Reading The Ruins of Gorlan
by Tia97
Summary: This is a fan-fiction where characters from Ranger's Apprentice read The Ruins of Gorlam. This takes place after The Lost Stories.
1. Prolouge

This is my first story so please go easy on me. Reviews are appreciated so I will know that people are actually reading my story.

Tia97

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

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><p>A special gathering had occurred at Castle Araluen. The Rangers Will, Halt, Crowley and Gilan were in the castle throne room along with Cassandra, Horace, Alyss, Jenny, Lady Pauline, Sir Rodney and Baron Arald. They had all been called to Castle Araluen for very secret reasons that hadn't been divulged to them by the Duncan, yet.<p>

"So, I assume you're wondering why I've summoned you all here today," said King Duncan when the room had final settled down.

"No, of course not Dad. We already knew," replied Cassandra, sarcastically.

Duncan went on, ignoring Cassandra's outburst, "I have just received some books on the life of Will and we've been asked to read them."

"On my life?" asked Will.

"Would you like me to clean your ears out for you?" asked Halt.

"Can I read first?" asked Gilan.

"Of course," replied Duncan and he handed the book to Gilan.

"**The Ruins of Gorlan," **read Gilan.

"**Morgarath," **"What a lovely way to start the book," said Horace. "What a lovely way to make a damn interruption," Halt retaliated. Halt apologised immediately after he was given a warning look from Pauline.

Gilan continued. **"Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, former Baron of Gorlan in the Kingdom of Araluen, looked out over his bleak, rainswept domain and, for perhaps the thousandth time, cursed.**

"Good to know the old fellow was so happy there," muttered Crowley

"**This was all that was left to him know – a jumble of rugged granite cliffs, tumbled boulders and icy mountains. Of sheer gorges and steep narrow passes. Of gravel rock, with never a tree or a sign of green to break the monotony."**

"Sounds like a lovely place," said Will

"How can anyone live there?" Jenny spoke, "There's no sign of life."

"I don't think I want to know how he survived," Crowley replied.

"**Even though it had been fifteen years since he had been driven back into this forbidding realm that had become his prison, he could still remember the pleasant green glades and thickly forested hills of his former fief. The streams filled with fish and the fields rich with crops and game. Gorlan had been a beautiful, living place. The mountains of Rain and Night were dead and desolate.**

"It's actually quite hard to imagine Gorlan like that. It looks so lifeless now," said Gilan.

"It was beautiful place," said Arald.

"Indeed Arald, it was," Duncan mused.

"**A platoon of Wargals was drilling in the castle yard below him.**

"That's just like how we run things at the battleschool," said Rodney

"**Mogarath watched them for a few seconds, listening to the guttural, rhythmic chant that accompanied all their movements. They were stock misshapen beings, with features that were halfway human, but with a long brutish muzzle and fangs like a bear or a large dog."**

"They certainly are nasty," Duncan said.

"**Avoiding all contact with humans, the Wargals had lived and bred in these remote mountains since ancient times.**

"No wonder there are so many of them," said Will.

"No they just magically appeared," muttered Cassandra.

"If you all keep interrupting we will never make it past the prologue," Gilan yelled.

Everyone just stared at him for a moment. He hastily apologised and continued.

"**No one in living memory had ever set eyes upon one, but rumours and legends had persisted of a savage tribe of semi-intelligent beasts in the mountains."**

"Semi-intelligent, could have fooled me," Crowley said.

"I think they already did old man," retaliated Halt.

"If Crowley's an old man than what are you?" Alyss joked.

The whole room laughed and Halt tried to keep his dignity by putting on his most fearsome face. Unknown to everyone else, Halt was actually laughing and the only person who realised was Pauline.

"**Morgarath, planning a revolt against the Kingdom of Araluen, had left Gorlan fief to seek them out. If such creatures existed, they would give him an edge to the war that was to come."**

At this line, Halt thought about how he fought in the battle of Hackham Heath. He remembered how Daniel fought against the Wargals with such strength and courage and how Will was so very much like Daniel.

"**It took him months but he eventually found them. Aside from their wordless chant, Wargals had no spoken language, relying on a primitive form of thought awareness for communication. But their minds were simple and their intellects basic. As a result, they had been totally susceptible to domination by a superior intelligence and willpower. Morgarath bent them to his will and they became the perfect army for him – ugly beyond nightmares, utterly pitiless and bound totally to his mental orders.**

**Now looking at them, he remembered the brightly dressed knights in glittering armour who used to compete in tourneys at Castle Gorlan, their silk gowned ladies cheering them on and applauding their skills. "**

"I wouldn't applaud Horace on his skill. It would give him a bigger head than the one he already has," exclaimed the young princess.

Everyone burst into laughter as said knight began to turn a deep shade of red.

"**Mentally comparing them to these black-furred, misshapen creatures, he cursed again."**

"He's not very happy is he," said Arald.

Arald wondered why nobody laughed at his attempt at humour.

"**The Wargals attuned to his thoughts, sensed his thoughts and stirred uncomfortably, pausing in what they were doing."**

"I never knew they could attune to human thought," said Duncan.

"**Angrily, he directed them back to their drill and the chanting resumed.**

**Morgarath moved away from the unglazed window, closer to the fire that seemed utterly incapable of dispelling the damp and chill from this gloomy castle. Fifteen years, he thought to himself again. Fifteen years since he had rebelled against the newly crowned King Duncan,"**

"Do I get a prize for being the first mentioned in Will's story?" Duncan joked.

"**A youth in his twenties. He had planned it all carefully as the old king's sickness progressed, banking on the indecision and confusion that would follow his death to split the other barons and give Morgarath his opportunity to seize the throne.**

**Secretly, he had trained his army of Wargals, massing them up here in the mountains, ready for the moment to strike. Then, in the days of confusion and grief following the king's death, when the barons Morgarath his opportunity to seize the throne.**

**Duncan, young and inexperienced, could never have stood against him. The kingdom was his for the taking. The throne was his for the asking."**

"Is not," muttered Cassandra and she continued muttering death threats for the next minute.

"Cassie," started Horace, "He's already dead".

**Then Lord Northolt, the old king's supreme army commander, had rallied some of the younger barons into a loyal confederation, giving strength to Duncan's resolve and stiffening the wavering courage of the others. The armies had met at Hackham Heath, close by the Slipsunder River, and the battle swayed in the balance for five hours, with attack and counterattack and massive loss of life. The Slipsunder was a shallow river, but its treacherous reaches of quicksand and soft mud had formed an impassable barrier, protecting Morgarath's right flank."**

"That really got annoying," said Crowley

"**But then one of those grey-cloaked meddlers known as Rangers led a force of heavy cavalry across a secret ford ten kilometres upstream."**

"Ranger's rule," yelled Will, and Halt just raised his eyebrow.

"**The armoured horsemen appeared at the crucial moment of the battle and fell upon the rear of Morgarath's army.**

**The Wargals, trained in the tumbled rocks of the mountains, had one weakness. They feared horses and could never stand against such a surprise cavalry attack. They broke, retreating to the narrow confines of Three Step Pass, and back to the Mountains of Rain and Night. Morgarath, his rebellion defeated, went with them. And here he had been exiled these fifteen years. Waiting, plotting, hating the men who had done this to him. Now, he thought, it was time for his revenge."**

"He didn't get it," Arald gleefully said.

"And thank God he didn't," said Rodney and Duncan in unison.

"**The time was ripe. Once again, he would lead his Wargals into an attack. But this time he would have allies. And this time he would sow the ground with uncertainty and confusion beforehand. This time none of those who conspired against him previously would be left alive to aid King Duncan. For the Wargals were not the only ancient, terrifying creatures he had found in these sombre mountains."**

"To right he is," muttered Halt. Halt remembered what had happened at the Ruins of Gorlan and how he and Will had nearly lost their lives.

"**He had two other allies, even more fearsome-the dreadful beasts known as the Kalkara.**

**The time was ripe to unleash them."**


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

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><p>"That's the end of the chapter," said Gilan.<p>

"Can I read next?" asked Lady Pauline.

Gilan passed the book to Pauline and began to read chapter two.

""**TRY TO EAT SOMETHING, WILL. TOMORROW'S A BIG DAY, after all." Jenny, blond, pretty and cheerful,"**

"Wow, I like my introduction into the story," said Jenny.

Gilan looked at Jenny with admiration. She was beautiful and he liked girls who didn't try and deny it.

"**gestured toward Will's barely touched plate and smiled encouragingly at him."**

"Why are you nervous?" asked Cassandra.

"It was the day before the Choosing Ceremony," Horace replied.

"What's that?"

"I'm sure it'll be explained," said Arald who didn't feel like explaining protocol.

Alyss, Will, Jenny and Horace looked back on the day of the Choosing Ceremony and realised just how young they were back then.

"**Will made an attempt to return the smile, but it was a dismal failure. He picked at the plate before him, piled high with his favourite foods."**

Jenny smiled at the joy cooking food had brought her. She told herself she would cook everybody's favourite foods as soon as it was lunch time.

" **Tonight, his stomach knotted tight with tension and anticipation, he could hardly bring himself to swallow a bite."**

Arald spoke, "I never knew that the Choosing Ceremony made you feel so scared.

"**Tomorrow would be a big day, he knew. He knew it all too well, in fact. Tomorrow would be the biggest day in his life, because tomorrow was the Choosing Day and it would determine how he spent the rest of his life."**

"Dramatic much," said Halt.

"Laugh if you will," Alyss spoke, "But for some of us it was a trying experience and an embarrassing one."

**"Nerves, I imagine," said George, setting down his loaded fork and seizing the lapels of his jacket in a judicious manner."**

"That's George," Alyss, Horace, Jenny and Will said in unison.

"**He was a thin, gangly and studious boy, fascinated by rules and regulations and with a penchant for examining and debating both sides of any question-sometimes at great length. "Dreadful thing, nervousness. It can just freeze you up so you can't think, can't eat, can't speak.""**

'Not for ranger's,' thought Arald and Duncan.

The both of them thought of how rangers were known for their wit and humour by their intimate friends.

""**I'm not nervous," Will said quickly, noticing that Horace had looked up, ready to form a sarcastic comment."**

"Why would you lie about that, I expect everybody would have been nervous," said Cassandra, "And why would you have made a sarcastic comment, you were all scared?"

She directed this last comment at Horace.

Horace could not meet her eyes. He had never told Cassandra about his immature ways or about the time before he and Will had become friends.

Will could sense his friends growing discomfort and therefore told Cassandra it would be explained in the book.

"**George nodded several times, considering Will's statement. "On the other hand," he added, "a little nervousness can actually improve performance. It can heighten your perceptions and sharpen your reactions. So, the fact that you are worried, if, in fact, you are, is not necessarily something to be worried about, of itself-so to speak.""**

Crowley considered this statement. They had of course been using the element of nervousness to help train young apprentices.

" **In spite of himself, a wry smile touched Will's mouth. George would be a natural in the legal profession, he thought. He would almost certainly be the Scribemaster's choice on the following morning."**

"Of course he would," said Jenny, "He could bore the socks off you at any moment of the day."

"**Perhaps, Will thought, that was at the heart of his own problem. He was the only one of the wardmates who had any fears about the Choosing that would take place within twelve hours."**

"With good reason," whispered Halt.

Pauline heard and smiled. She had come to love Will as her son and knew that Halt cared deeply for the boy.

"**"He ought to be nervous!" Horace scoffed. After all, which Craftmaster is going to want him as an apprentice?""**

For some reason, Cassandra was irritated by this remark and wondered what Horace's childhood was like. They were after all having a child of their own and had to make sure the baby had a good childhood.

"**"I'm sure we're all nervous," Alyss said. She directed one of her rare smiles at Will. "We'd be stupid not to be.""**

Pauline wondered how far back Alyss had developed feelings for Will and when Will realised he was in love with her, while everyone else sniggered at the newly married couple who were blushing a bright red.

**"Well, I'm not!" Horace said, then reddened as Alyss raised one eyebrow and Jenny giggled.**

The four old ward mates looked back fondly over how childish they were and how sad it was that after the choosing ceremony they hadn't seen each other often.

"**It was typical of Alyss, Will thought. He knew that the tall, graceful girl had already been promised a place as an apprentice by Lady Pauline, head of Castle Redmont's Diplomatic Service. Her pretence that she was nervous about the following day, and her tact in refraining from pointing out Horace's gaffe, showed that she was already a diplomat of some skill."**

Everyone smiled as they thought about how good a diplomat Alyss was. Pauline expressed a great pride in her young trainee and how mature she had grown.

"**Jenny, of course, would gravitate immediately to the castle kitchens, domain of Master Chubb, Redmont's head chef. He was a man renowned throughout the kingdom for the banquets served in the castle's massive dining hall. Jenny loved food and cooking, and her easygoing nature and unfailing good humour would make her an invaluable staff member in the turmoil of the castle kitchens."**

Mouths watered at the thought of Jenny's cooking and Jenny smiled appreciatively at how much people loved her food.

"**Battleschool would be Horace's choice. Will glanced at his ward mate now, hungrily tucking into the roast turkey, ham and potatoes that he had heaped onto his plate. Horace was big for his age and a natural athlete. The chances that he would be refused were virtually nonexistent."**

"Actually," interrupted Rodney, "We check to see if they have good qualities and the behaviour we expect."

"Also if they have large stomachs," Cassandra joked and while everyone laughed Horace pouted. He also thought how wonderful his wife was.

"**Horace was exactly the type of recruit that Sir Rodney looked for in his warrior apprentices. Strong, athletic, fit. And, thought Will a trifle sourly, not too bright."**

There was a round of laughter as Rodney looked offended and Horace threw one of the sofa cushions at Will.

"Sorry Horace, but you're living proof that most knights aren't too bright," said Will.

He repeated the word _most_ and eyed Rodney who had been giving him something that looked like the evil eye.

"**Battleschool was the path to knighthood for boys like Horace-born commoners but with the physical abilities to serve as knights of the kingdom."**

"**Which left Will. What would his choice be? More importantly, as Horace had pointed out, what Craftmaster would accept him as an apprentice?"**

"You always underestimate yourself," said Alyss.

"She's right," Pauline said, "You are an amazing person with amazing skills."

"**For choosing day was the pivotal point in the life of the castle wards. They were the orphan children raised by the generosity of Baron Arald, the Lord of Redmont Fief. For the most part, their parents had died in the service of the fief, and the Baron saw it as his responsibility to care for and raise the children of his former subjects – and to give them the opportunity to improve their station in life wherever possible."**

All four wards nodded their silent thanks to Arald for giving them the chance to improve their lives. They all couldn't imagine their lives without his charity.

"**Choosing Day provided that opportunity."**

"**Each year, castle wards turning fifteen could apply to be apprenticed to the masters of the various crafts that served the castle and its people. Ordinarily, craft apprentices were selected by dint of their parents' occupations or influence with the Craftmasters. The castle wards usually had no such influence and this was their chance to win a future for themselves.**

**Those wards who weren't chosen, or for whom no openings could be found, would be assigned to farming families in the nearby village, providing farm labour to raise the crops and animals that fed the castle inhabitants."**

Cassandra couldn't imagine all of her friends working as farmers and thought of the cruel process that would have taken place.

"**It was rare for this to happen, Will knew. The Baron and his Craftmasters usually went out of their way to fit the wards into one craft or another. But it could happen and it was a fate he feared more than anything.**

**Horace caught his eye now and gave him a smug smile."**

Horace knew he was a jerk, but he had never heard about it from Will's point of view.

"**Still planning on applying for Battleschool, Will?" he asked through a mouthful of turkey and potatoes. "Better eat something then. You'll need to build yourself up a little."**

"That's true. He looked like he was starved when he was growing up," said Halt

"**He snorted with laughter and Will glowered at him. A few weeks previously, Horace had overheard Will confiding to Alyss that he desperately wanted to be selected for Battleschool, and he had made Will's life a misery ever since, pointing out on every possible occasion that Will's slight build was totally unsuited for the rigors of Battleschool training."**

"You were so rude," scolded Cassandra.

Horace smiled faintly at being scolded by his wife for what had happened in the past.

"**The fact that Horace was probably right only made matters worse. Where Horace was tall and muscular, Will was small and wiry. He was agile and fast and surprisingly strong, but he simply didn't have the size that he knew was required of Battleschool apprentices. He'd hoped against hope for the past few years that he would have what people called his 'growing spurt' before the Choosing Day came around. But it had never happened and now the day was nearly here.**

**As Will said nothing, Horace sensed that he had scored a verbal hit. This was a rarity in their turbulent relationship. Over the past few years, he and Will had clashed repeatedly. Being the stronger of the two, Horace usually got the better of Will, although very occasionally Will's speed and agility allowed him to get in a surprise kick or a punch and then escape before Horace could catch him.**

**But while Horace generally had the best of their physical clashes, it was unusual for him to win any of their verbal encounters. Will's wit was as agile as the rest of him and he almost always managed to have the last word. In fact, it was this tendency that often led to trouble between them: Will was yet to learn that having the last word was not always a good idea. Horace decided now to press his advantage."**

"Sorry," Horace apologised.

"Don't apologise for the past," said Will.

"Well we went for a long time without someone interrupting," said Pauline, "Maybe we could try to refrain from commenting so much."

"Sorry, but I don't see that happening anytime soon," growled Halt with a hint of a smile.

**"Particularly between the ears," Will replied and, unfortunately, Jenny couldn't refrain from giggling."**

Nobody had any trouble with laughing at Will's sense of humour, even Horace.

"**Horace's face flushed and he started to rise from his seat. But Will was quicker and he was already at the door before Horace could disentangle himself from his chair. He contented himself with hurling a final insult after his retreating wardmate."**

**"That's right! Run away, Will No-Name! You're a no-name and nobody will want you as an apprentice!""**

Everybody looked at Horace and their faces were full of disbelief. They could not believe that he would be insensitive. Cassandra wondered how the both of them had become friends.

"**In the anteroom outside, Will heard the parting sally and felt blood flush to his cheeks. It was the taunt he hated most, although he had tried never to let Horace know that, sensing that he would provide the bigger boy with a weapon if he did."**

"I probably would have," said Horace and he had the heart to feel ashamed for all his mishaps.

"**The truth was, nobody knew Will's second name. Nobody knew who his parents had been. Unlike his yearmates, who had lived in the fief before their parents had died and whose family histories were known, Will had appeared, virtually appeared out of nowhere, as a newborn baby. He had been found, wrapped in a small blanket and placed in a basket, on the steps of the ward building fifteen years ago. A note had been attached to the blanket, reading simply:**

_**His mother died in childbirth.**_

_**His father died a hero.**_

_**Please care for him. His name is Will.**_**"**

At this most of the room had teared up. Even Cassandra who tried to act tough in situations like these.

"**That year, there had been only one other ward. Alyss's father was a cavalry lieutenant who had died in the battle at Hackham Heath, when Morgarath's Wargal army had been defeated and driven back to the mountains."**

Will now realised that Alyss' father and his father had died in the same battle.

"**Alyss's mother, devastated by her loss, succumbed to a fever some weeks after giving birth. So there was plenty of room in the Ward for the unknown child, and Baron Arald was, at heart, a kindly man."**

Again, Will nodded his thanks to Baron Arald for shaping his future and giving him a chance to live life.

"**Even though the circumstances were unusual, he had given permission for Will to be accepted as a ward of Castle Redmont. It seemed logical to assume that, if the note were true, Will's father had died in the war against Morgarath, and since Baron Arald had taken a leading part in that war, he felt duty bound to honour the unknown father's sacrifice.**

**So Will had become a Redmont ward, raised and educated by the Baron's generosity. As time passed, the others had gradually joined him and Alyss until there were five in their year group. But while the others had memories of their parents or, in Alyss's case, people who had known them and who could tell her about them, Will knew nothing of his past.**

**That was why he had invented the story that had sustained him throughout his childhood in the Ward. And, as the years passed and he added detail and colour to the story, he eventually came to believe it himself."**

Once again, Halt wondered if he had made the right decision to not raise Will himself. He then told himself he made the right decision as Will would've have never been looked at properly by the villagers.

"**His father, he knew, had died a hero's death. So it made sense to create a picture of him as a hero-a knight warrior in full armour, fighting against the Wargal hordes, cutting them down left and right until eventually he was overcome by sheer weight of numbers. Will had pictured the tall figure so often in his mind, seeing every detail of his armour and his equipment but never being able to visualize his face.**

**As a warrior, his father would expect him to follow in his footsteps.**

"Why do all children think they have to follow their parent's footsteps," said Duncan, "I mean they are free to choose their own future."

"That's ironic coming from you," Cassandra said, "I have to become Queen one day."

"Let's just hope that day won't be arriving anytime soon shall we," said Duncan, eyeing his daughter.

"**That was why selection for Battleschool was so important to Will. And that was why, the more unlikely it became that he would be selected, the more desperately he clung to the hope that he might.**

**He exited from the Ward building into the darkened castle yard. The sun was long down and the torches placed every twenty meters or so on the castle walls shed a flickering, uneven light. He hesitated a moment. He would not return to the Ward and face Horace's continued taunts. To do so would only lead to another fight between them-a fight that Will knew that he would probably lose. George would probably try to analyse the situation for him, looking at both sides of the question and thoroughly confusing the issue. Alyss and Jenny might try to comfort him, he knew-Alyss particularly since they had grown up together. But at the moment he didn't want their sympathy and he couldn't face Horace's taunts, so he headed for the one place where he knew he could find solitude."**

Crowley and Halt shared a knowing look. They both knew that ranger's liked to be on their own so they could clear their head. It was one of the reasons they preferred a cabin in the woods.

"**The huge fig tree growing close by the castle's central tower had often afforded him a haven. Heights held no fear for Will and he climbed smoothly into the tree, continuing long after another might have stopped, until he was in the lighter branches at the very top-branches that swayed and dipped under his weight. In the past, he had often escaped from Horace up here. The bigger boy couldn't match Will's speed in the tree and he was unwilling to follow as high as this. Will found a convenient fork and wedged himself in it, his body giving slightly to the movement of the tree as the branches swayed in the evening breeze."**

All the rangers shared a knowing look about how they liked the view from a tree better than the one you might get with two feet planted firmly on the ground.

"**Below, the foreshortened figures of the watch made their rounds of the castle yard.**

**He heard the door of the Ward building open and, glancing down, saw Alyss emerge, looking around the yard for him in vain. The tall girl hesitated a few moments, then, seeming to shrug, turned back inside. The elongated rectangle of light that the open door threw across the yard was cut off as she closed the door softly behind her. Strange, he thought, how seldom people tend to look up."**

"To true," muttered Will, and he reminisced about how he had hidden from enemies on numerous occasions.

"**There was a rustle of soft feathers and a barn owl landed on the next branch, its head swivelling, its huge eyes catching every last ray of the faint light. It studied him without concern, seeming to know it had nothing to fear from him. It was a hunter. A silent flyer. A ruler of the night.**

"**At least you know who you are," he said softly to the bird. It swivelled it's head again, then launched itself off into the darkness, leaving him alone with his thoughts.**

Horace again thought of how he had hurt his best friend and Cassandra sighed knowing that everyone wasn't perfect.

"**Gradually, as he sat there, the lights in the castle windows went out, one by one. The torches burnt down to smouldering husks and were replaced at midnight by the change of watch. Eventually, there was only one light left burning and that, he knew, was in the Baron's study, where the Lord of Redmont was still presumably at work, poring over reports and papers. The study was virtually level with Will's position in the tree and he could see the burly figure of the Baron seated at his desk."**

Arald thought of closing his curtains more often. It's no wonder Will knew where to go when he found the note, he thought.

"**Finally Baron Arald rose, stretched and leaned forward to extinguish the lamp as he left the room, heading for his sleeping quarters on the floor above. Now the castle was asleep, except for the guards on the walls, who kept constant watch.**

**In less than nine hours, Will realized, he would face the Choosing. Silently, miserably, fearing the worst, he climbed down from the tree and made his way to his bed in the darkened boys' dormitory in the Ward."**

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><p>Thank-you to <strong>Trouble in the Night<strong>, **Gwedheil0117**, **Falcon31** and **Ranger Sage** who reviewed and gave me motivation and inspiration to keep this story going.

Thanks for reading. Hopefully I can update soon. Just so everyone knows, I will never give up on Ranger's Apprentice.

Tia97


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

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><p>"All right, that chapter's done," said Lady Pauline, "Who's next?"<p>

"Actually, I need to talk to Will and Horace in Private," interrupted Cassandra.

Will, Horace and Cassandra exited the room and went into the first empty room that they found.

"Were you two enemies in your childhood?" asked Cassandra.

Will began to explain how they used to act and how they didn't like each other that much while they were children. He left out the part of how they both became friends. He thought it might be in the book. Horace stayed in the corner and had the decency to look sheepish. Cassandra sent him a look as if to say 'I forgive you for all you wrong doings.'

They all went and sat down with everyone else and Cassandra felt happier that she knew what was going on.

"I'll read next," Alyss said.

"**"All right, candidates! This way! And look lively!" The speaker, or more correctly the shouter, was Martin, secretary to Baron Arald."**

Arald sighed and wished that Martin would learn how to loosen up soon. He hated the fact that he never felt he could speak his mind and that he had to abide by the rules.

"**As his voice echoed around the anteroom, the five wards rose uncertainly from the long wooden benches where they had been seated. Suddenly nervous now that the day had finally arrived, they began to shuffle forward, each one reluctant to be the first through the great ironbound door that Martin now held open for them." Come on, come on!" Martin bellowed impatiently. Alyss finally elected to lead the way,"**

"Of course she would," chorused Will, Horace and Jenny.

Alyss blushed a deep red.

Pauline however felt yet another surge of pride at her former trainee's skills.

"**as Will had guessed she would. The others followed the willowy blonde girl. Now that someone had decided to lead, the rest of them were content to follow.**

**Will looked around curiously as he entered the Baron's study. He'd never been in this part of the castle before. This tower, containing the administrative section and the Baron's private apartments, was seldom visited by those of low rank-such as castle wards. The room was huge. The ceiling seemed to tower above him and the walls were constructed of massive stone blocks, fitted together with only the barest lines of mortar between them. On the eastern wall was a huge window space-open to the elements but with massive wooden shutters that could be closed in the event of bad weather. It was the same window he had seen through last night, he realized. Today, sunlight streamed in and fell on the huge oak table that Baron Arald used as a desk.**

**"Come on now! Stand in line, stand in line!" Martin seemed to be enjoying his moment of authority."**

"He always does," said Arald. Pauline and Rodney burst into laughter and it took awhile for them to calm down.

"**The group shuffled slowly into line and he studied them, his mouth twisted in disapproval." In size place! Tallest this end!" He indicated the end where he wanted the tallest of the five to stand. Gradually, the group rearranged itself. Horace, of course, was the tallest. After him, Alyss took her position. Then George, half a head shorter than she and painfully thin. He stood in his usual stoop-shouldered posture. Will and Jenny hesitated. Jenny smiled at Will and gestured for him to go before her, even though she was possibly an inch taller than he was. That was typical of Jenny. She knew how Will agonized over the fact that he was the smallest of all the castle wards. As Will moved into the line, Martin's voice stopped him."**

"Always found a way to ruin a good thing," said Halt.

Gilan once again found himself wondering about Jenny's kindness and how beautiful she was.

"**"Not you! The girl's next." Jenny shrugged apologetically and moved into the place Martin had indicated. Will took the last place in the line, wishing Martin hadn't made his lack of height so apparent."**

"It's Martin, it's what he does," Arald shrugged.

"You got that right," commented Rodney, "He once told me off for not having my collar straight in the 'presences of the high and mighty baron.'"

"**Come on! Smarten up, smarten up! Let's see you at attention there," Martin continued, then broke off as a deep voice interrupted him."**

"Thank God," Halt muttered and Crowley rolled his eyes at his old friend's lack of feeling towards Martin.

"**"I don't believe that's totally necessary, Martin.""**

"When is anything he ever does totally necessary," said Rodney and Pauline was stuck in a fit of silent laughter.

"**It was Baron Arald, who had entered, unobserved, by way of a smaller door behind his massive desk. Now it was Martin who brought himself to what he considered to be a position of attention, with his skinny elbows held out from his sides, his heels forced together so that his unmistakably bowed legs were widely separated at the knees, and his head thrown back."**

At this nobody could contain their laughter (except Halt who raised an eyebrow). Everyone could imagine Martin doing this. He was so uptight all the time.

"He never laughs at my jokes. I keep wondering if I should get a secretary who will laugh at my jokes," said Arald who was wiping tears from his eyes.

Everybody else stopped laughing and looked at the Baron of Redmont fief and stared. No one had the heart to say that his jokes were never funny. Arald thought that they must be laughing on the inside.

"**Baron Arald raised his eyes to heaven. Sometimes his secretary's zeal on these occasions could be a little overwhelming."**

"You could say that again," said the baron.

Halt couldn't resist and said with a very straight face, "Sometimes his secretary's zeal on these occasions could be a little overwhelming."

Everyone except the rangers were fighting back the urge to giggle and Arald had a look of pure embarrassment on his face.

"**The Baron was a big man, broad in shoulder and waist and heavily muscled, as was necessary for a knight of the realm."**

"So I got a good introduction," said Arald.

Alyss, however smiled at the next sentence.

"**It was well known, however, that Baron Arald was fond of his food and drink, so his considerable bulk was not totally attributable to muscle."**

Again, everyone refrained from laughing as the baron turned a deep shade of red.

"**He had a short, neatly trimmed black beard that, like his hair, was beginning to show the traces of gray that went with his forty-two years. He had a strong jaw, a large nose and dark, piercing eyes under heavy brows. It was a powerful face, but not an unkind one, Will thought. There was a surprising hint of humour in those dark eyes. Will had noted it before, on the occasions when Arald had made his infrequent visits to the wards' quarters to see how their lessons and personal development were progressing.**

**"Sir!" Martin said at top volume, causing the Baron to wince slightly. "The candidates are assembled!"**

**"I can see that," Baron Arald replied patiently. "Perhaps you might be good enough to ask the Craftmasters to step in as well?"**

**"Sir!" Martin responded, making an attempt to click his heels together. As he was wearing shoes of a soft, pliable leather, the attempt was doomed to failure."**

The king felt a certain pang of sympathy for Martin as he knew a bit about the importance of protocol. He also felt a desire to laugh like everybody else at the site of Martin clicking his heals and failing dismally.

"**He marched toward the main door of the study, all elbows and knees. Will was reminded of a rooster."**

"That's what he reminds me of," said Horace and Arald at the same time.

"I don't know, he looks more like a penguin," said Pauline.

"I say he looks like a walrus," Rodney joined in, catching onto all the fun.

" **As Martin laid his hand on the door handle, the Baron stopped him once more.**

**"Martin?" he said softly. As the secretary turned an inquiring look back at him, he continued in the same quiet tone, "Ask them. Don't bellow at them. Craftmasters don't like that.""**

"Damn right we don't," muttered Rodney.

"**"Yes, sir," said Martin, looking somewhat deflated. He opened the door and, making an obvious effort to speak in a lower tone, said, "Craftmasters. The Baron is ready now" The Craftschool heads entered the room in no particular order of precedence. As a group, they admired and respected one another and so rarely stood on strict ceremonial procedure. Sir Rodney, head of the Battleschool, came first. Tall and broad-shouldered like the Baron, he wore the standard battledress of chain mail shirt under a white surcoat emblazoned with his own crest, a scarlet wolfshead. He had earned that crest as a young man, fighting the wolfships of the Skandian sea raiders who constantly harried the kingdom's east coast. He wore a sword belt and sword, of course. No knight would be seen in public without one. He was around the Baron's age, with blue eyes and a face that would have been remarkably handsome if it weren't for the massively broken nose. He sported an enormous mustache but, unlike the Baron, he had no beard."**

Rodney nodded his head in approval at the entrance he was given in the book.

"**Next came the Horsemaster, responsible for the care and training of the castle's mighty battlehorses. He had keen brown eyes, strong, muscular forearms and heavy wrists. He wore a simple leather vest over his woolen shirt and leggings. Tall riding boots of soft leather reached up past his knees.**

"**Lady Pauline followed. Slim, gray-haired and elegant, she had been a considerable beauty in her youth and still had the grace and style to turn men's heads. Lady Pauline, who had been awarded the title in her own right for her work in foreign policy for the kingdom, was head of the Diplomatic Service in Redmont. Baron Arald regarded her abilities highly and she was one of his close confidants and advisers. Arald often said that girls made the best recruits to the Diplomatic Service. They tended to be more subtle than boys, who gravitated naturally to Battleschool. And while boys constantly looked to physical means as the way of solving problems, girls could be depended on to use their wits."**

Halt looked adoringly (how adoring could a ranger get) and nodded his head in agreement as if to say that he agreed with Pauline's description in the book. The part about making men's heads turn unsettled him a bit.

"**It was perhaps only natural that Nigel, the Scribemaster, followed close behind Lady Pauline. They had been discussing matters of mutual interest while they waited for Martin to summon them. Nigel and Lady Pauline were close friends as well as professional colleagues. It was Nigel's trained scribes who prepared the official documents and communiques that were so often delivered by Lady Pauline's diplomats. He also advised on the exact wording of such documents, having an extensive background in legal matters. Nigel was a small, wiry man with a quick, inquisitive face that reminded Will of a ferret. His hair was glossy black, his features were thin and his dark eyes never ceased roaming the room.**

**Master Chubb,"**

Jenny smiled in affection of her old mentor. Everyone else, however, were thinking of his food and how hungry they were, especially Horace.

" **the castle cook, came in last of all. Inevitably, he was a fat, round-bellied man, wearing a cook's white jacket and tall hat. He was known to have a terrible temper that could flare as quickly as oil spilled on a fire, and most of the wards treated him with considerable caution. Florid-faced and with red, rapidly receding hair, Master Chubb carried a wooden ladle with him wherever he went. It was an unofficial staff of office. It was also used quite often as an offensive weapon, landing with a resounding crack on the heads of careless, forgetful or slow-moving kitchen apprentices. Alone among the group, Jenny saw Chubb as something of a hero. It was her avowed intention to work for him and learn his skills, wooden ladle or no wooden ladle."**

"He does have a hard hit," Will said as he subconsciously touched the back of his head.

"**There were other Craftmasters, of course. The Armorer and the Blacksmith were two. But only those Craftmasters who currently had vacancies for new apprentices would be represented today." The Craftmasters are assembled, sir!" Martin said, his voice rising in volume. Martin seemed to equate volume and the importance of the occasion in direct proportion. Once again, the Baron raised his eyes to heaven." So I see," he said quietly, then added, in a more formal tone, "Good morning, Lady Pauline. Good morning, gentlemen."**

**They replied and the Baron turned to Martin once more. "Perhaps we might proceed?"**

**Martin nodded several times, consulted a sheaf of notes he held in one hand and marched to confront the line of candidates. "Right, the Baron's waiting! The Baron's waiting! Who's first?""**

"He thinks he is so organised," muttered Jenny who still was very annoyed at him.

"**Will, eyes down, shifting nervously from one foot to the other, suddenly had the strange sensation that someone was watching him. He looked up and actually started with surprise as he met the dark, unfathomable gaze of Halt, the Ranger."**

"Oh no. Everyone it's Halt the ranger," Gilan said sarcastically.

"Run for your lives," said Horace.

"He's over two feet tall and can kill men with his stares," Cassandra joked.

"Shut up," Halt said to all the jokers and the he eyed all the soon to be laughers and sent them a warning message through his eyes.

"**Will hadn't seen him come into the room. He realized that the mysterious figure must have slipped in through a side door while everyone's attention was on the Craftmasters as they made their entrance. Now he stood behind the Baron's chair and slightly to one side, dressed in his usual brown and gray clothes and wrapped in his long, mottled gray and green Ranger's cloak. Halt was an unnerving person. He had a habit of coming up on you when you least expected it-and you never heard his approach. The superstitious villagers believed that Rangers practiced a form of magic that made them invisible to ordinary people."**

Halt was actually grateful for this cover. It meant that nobody would stop and annoy him on the streets. He was glad only a few people knew he was a bit of a softie.

" **Will wasn't sure if he believed that-but he wasn't sure he disbelieved it either. He wondered why Halt was here today. He wasn't recognized as one of the Craftmasters and, as far as Will knew, he hadn't attended a Choosing session prior to this one.**

**Abruptly, Halt's gaze cut away from him and it was as if a light had been turned off."**

"The mystery aura," Cassandra whispered to the silent room.

"**Will realized that Martin was talking once more. He noticed that the secretary had a habit of repeating statements, as if he were followed by his own personal echo." Now then, who's first? Who's first?" The Baron sighed audibly. "Why don't we take the first in line?" he suggested in a reasonable tone, and Martin nodded several times."**

"He looks like he's about to make his head fall off when he nods," said Rodney.

**"Of course, my lord. Of course. First in line, step forward and face the Baron."**

**After a moment's hesitation, Horace stepped forward out of the line and stood at attention. The Baron studied him for a few seconds. "Name?" he said, and Horace answered, stumbling slightly over the correct method of address for the Baron.**

**"Horace Altman, sir… my lord."**

**"And do you have a preference, Horace?" the Baron asked, with the air of one who knows what the answer is going to be before hearing it."**

"Do you get tired of hearing the answer?" asked Rodney.

"If I know the person is making the right choice it doesn't bother me," replied Arald.

"**"Battleschool, sir!" Horace said firmly. The Baron nodded. He'd expected as much. He glanced at Rodney, who was studying the boy thoughtfully, assessing his suitability. "Battlemaster?" the Baron said. Normally he would address Rodney by his first name, not his title. But this was a formal occasion. By the same token, Rodney would usually address the Baron as "sir." But on a day like today, "my lord" was the proper form.**

**The big knight stepped forward, his chain mail and spurs chinking slightly as he moved closer to Horace. He eyed the boy up and down, then moved behind him. Horace's head started to turn with him." Still," Sir Rodney said, and the boy ceased his movement, staring straight ahead."**

"How did you stay still? I mean not fidget and lose interest?" Cassandra asked.

"You think that was still," Horace replied, "Check out the rangers.'

"Yeah, we are pretty cool," Will said, as he had overheard the conversation.

Alyss who had overheard as well said, "You rangers have such high opinions of yourself."

"Not all rangers," said Jenny who was gazing Gilan.

Alyss continued with the story with a smile on her face that suggested that she knew a secret about her almost sister, a secret that included the 'oh so handsome' ranger Gilan.

"**"Looks strong enough, my lord, and I can always use new trainees."He rubbed one hand over his chin. "You ride, Horace Altman?"**

**A look of uncertainty crossed Horace's face as he realized this might be a hurdle to his selection. "Well… no, sir. I…" He was about to add that castle wards had little chance to learn to ride, but Sir Rodney interrupted him."**

"I always do," whispered Rodney to Arald, "It makes the process go quicker."

"**"No matter. That can be taught." The big knight looked at the Baron and nodded. "Very well, my lord. I'll take him for Battleschool, subject to the usual three-month probationary period."**

**The Baron made a note on a sheet of paper before him and smiled briefly at the delighted, and very relieved, youth before him." Congratulations, Horace. Report to Battleschool tomorrow morning. Eight o'clock sharp."**

**"Yes, sir!" Horace replied, grinning widely. He turned to Sir Rodney and bowed slightly. "Thank you, sir!"**

**"Don't thank me yet," the knight replied cryptically. "You don't know what you're in for.""**

"Well, I stand by my statement," Rodney chuckled.

"You should, it's a hundred per cent true," said Horace, and he remembered the first few months of his training, thinking how his three bullies had only made him stronger.

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><p>Well this is the third chapter. I hope you liked it. Thank-you to all the people who are reading it. Feel free to review and to PM me.<p>

Tia97


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

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><p>"Well, I'm finished so who'll read next?" Alyss asked.<p>

"I will," replied Halt, much to everyone's surprise.

Halt realised that if this story was about Will then he was going to be mentioned many times. He wanted to read a part where he wouldn't have to read about himself.

"**"Who's next then?" Martin was calling as Horace, grinning broadly, stepped back into the line. Alyss stepped forward gracefully, annoying Martin, who had wanted to nominate her as the next candidate."**

Many laughed at Alyss annoying Martin. Arald however was laughing the most and the loudest giving everyone a fleeting impression of a dying chicken.

**"Alyss Mainwaring, my lord," she said in her quiet, level voice. Then, before she could be asked, she continued, "I request an appointment to the Diplomatic Service, please, my lord.""**

"I think you showed Martin how it's done," said Pauline.

"I could see he was ready to try and tell you off for anything he could find fault with," Halt told Alyss.

"**Arald smiled at the solemn-looking girl. She had an air of self-confidence and poise about her that would suit her well in the Service. He glanced at Lady Pauline.**

**"My lady?" he said.**

**She nodded her head several times. "I've already spoken to Alyss, my lord. I believe she will be an excellent candidate. Approved and accepted.""**

"That was quick," said Cassandra.

"Just wait until you hear about mine," said Jenny and Will, Alyss and Horace burst out laughing at the memory.

"**Alyss made a small bow of her head in the direction of the woman who would be her mentor. Will thought how alike they were-both tall and elegant in their movements, both grave in manner."**

"Why thank-you Will," said both mentioned diplomats.

Halt didn't want Will getting to much attention so he started to compliment Pauline himself.

"Pauline, I think you're wonderful and beautiful-" Halt was stopped mid sentence.

"Oh shut- up Halt," said Pauline and everyone burst out laughing at Halt's attempts to compliment his wife.

"I guess we really know who runs that relationship," Gilan whispered to Will.

"**He felt a small surge of pleasure for his oldest companion, knowing how much she had wanted this selection. Alyss stepped back in line and Martin, not to be forestalled this time, was already pointing to George."**

"Of course he wouldn't want to be 'embarrassed' twice," said Arald shaking his head.

"**"Right! You're next! You're next! Address the Baron."**

**George stepped forward. His mouth opened and closed several times, but nothing came out."**

"Why isn't he saying something?" Cassandra asked, "Is he sick?"

"Cassie," started Duncan, "I think it's just nerves, though you wouldn't understand you have such a big mouth."

"**The other wards watched in surprise. George, long regarded by them all as the official advocate for just about everything, was overcome with stage fright. He finally managed to say something in a low voice that nobody in the room could hear. Baron Arald leaned forward, one hand cupped behind his ear.**

**"I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that," he said.**

**George looked up at the Baron and, with an enormous effort, spoke in a-just-audible voice. "G-George Carter, sir. Scribe school, sir."**

**Martin, ever a stickler for the proprieties, drew breath to berate him for the truncated nature of his address."**

"Not again," said Duncan.

He was getting quite sick of Martin's outbursts.

"**Before he could do so, and to everyone's evident relief, Baron Arald stepped in."**

"Thank God," muttered Crowley.

Crowley thought Martin was full of nonsense.

"**" Very well, Martin. Let it go. "Martin looked a little aggrieved, but subsided. The Baron glanced at Nigel, his chief scribe and legal officer, one eyebrow raised in question.**

**"Acceptable, my lord," he said, adding, "I've seen some of George's work and he really does have a gift for calligraphy."**

**The Baron looked doubtful. "He's not the most forceful of speakers, though, is he, Scribemaster? That could be a problem if he has to offer legal counsel at any time in the future."**

**Nigel shrugged the objection aside. "I promise you, my lord, with proper training that sort of thing represents no problem. Absolutely no problem at all, my lord.""**

"You got that right," said Crowley who had spoken to George on numerous occasions. He was quite the chatterbox.

"**The Scribemaster folded his hands together into the wide sleeves of the monk like habit he wore as he warmed to his theme.**

**"I remember a boy who joined us some seven years back, rather like this one here, as a matter of fact. He had that same habit of mumbling to his shoes—but we soon showed him how to overcome it. Some of our most reluctant speakers have gone on to develop absolute eloquence, my lord, absolute eloquence."**

**The Baron drew breath to comment, but Nigel continued in his discourse.**

**"It may even surprise you to hear that as a boy, I myself suffered from a most terrible nervous stutter. Absolutely terrible, my lord. Could barely put two words together at a time."**

**"Hardly a problem now, I see," the Baron managed to put in dryly,"**

For about the first and last time in his life, Arald saw a group of people who were laughing at his joke.

"**and Nigel smiled, taking the point. He bowed to the Baron.**

**"Exactly, my lord. We'll soon help young George overcome his shyness. Nothing like the rough and tumble of Scribeschool for that. Absolutely."**

**The Baron smiled in spite of himself. The Scribeschool was a studious place where voices were rarely, if ever, raised and where logical, reasoned debate reigned supreme. Personally, on his visits to the place, he had found it mind-numbing in the extreme."**

"It would be nice to go there and get some peace and quiet," said Duncan who was looking forward to a day off. Not that you could really have any with being king.

**Anything less like a rough and tumble atmosphere he could not imagine.**

**"I'll take your word for it," he replied, then to George he said, "Very well, George, request granted. Report to Scribeschool tomorrow."**

**George shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Mumble-mumble-mumble," he said and the Baron leaned forward again, frowning as he tried to make out the low-pitched words.**

**"What was that?" he asked.**

**George finally looked up and managed to whisper, "Thank you, my lord." He hurriedly shuffled back to the relative anonymity of the line.**

**"Oh," said the Baron, a little taken aback. "Think nothing of it. Now, next is…"**

**Jenny was already stepping forward. Blond and pretty, she was also, it had to be admitted, a little on the chubby side. But the look suited her, and at any of the castle's social functions, she was a much sought-after dance partner with the boys in the castle, both her yearmates in the Ward and the sons of castle staff as well."**

At this Gilan looked a little jealous. He made up his mind to tell Jenny he loved her as soon as they had finished reading all the books.

"**"Master Chubb, sir!" she said now, stepping forward right to the edge of the Baron's desk. The Baron looked into the round face, saw the eagerness shining there in the blue eyes, and couldn't help smiling at her."**

"You certainly do have determination," Arald told Jenny, "I remember the first time I came to your restaurant and thought about how far you've come."

"**"What about him?" he asked gently and she hesitated, realizing that, in her enthusiasm, she had breached the protocol of the Choosing.**

**"Oh! Your pardon, sir…my…Baron…your lordship,""**

"Your lordship is a new one," Duncan joked.

The room burst out in laughter at Jenny's foolishness and Jenny began to turn red in the face.

" **she hastily improvised, her tongue running away with her as she mangled the correct form of address.**

**"My lord!" Martin prompted her. Baron Arald looked at him, eyebrows raised.**

**"Yes, Martin?" he said. "What is it?" Martin had the grace to look embarrassed. He knew that his master was intentionally misunderstanding his interruption."**

Again the room burst into laughter. They had never known the Baron to have a sense of humour. Arald looked confused. He just didn't want Jenny to be scolded by Martin.

"**He took a deep breath, and said in an apologetic tone, "I… simply wanted to inform you that the candidate's name is Jennifer Dalby, sir."**

**The Baron nodded at him, and Martin, a devoted servant of the heavy bearded man, saw the look of approval in his lord's eyes. "Thank you, Martin. Now, Jennifer Dalby…"**

**"Jenny, sir," said the irrepressible girl, and he shrugged resignedly. "Jenny, then. I assume that you are applying to be apprenticed to Master Chubb?"**

**"Oh, yes, please, sir!" Jenny replied breathlessly, turning adoring eyes on the portly, red-haired cook. Chubb scowled thoughtfully and considered her." Mmmmm… could be, could be," he muttered, walking back and forth in front of her. She smiled winningly at him, but Chubb was beyond such feminine wiles."**

"Chubb always takes the longest time to pick out his apprentices," Pauline said.

"Remember that time he made this poor boy bake a pudding just right before he was apprenticed," Rodney said to the room.

"The pudding was nice," Arald reminisced. All the craftsmasters who had been present that year had the pudding for desert. Arald could honestly say that it was the best pudding he had ever had.

**"I'd work hard, sir," she told him earnestly.**

**"I know you would!" he replied with some spirit. "I'd make sure of it, girl. No slacking or lollygagging in my kitchen, let me tell you." Fearing that her opportunity might be slipping away, Jenny played her trump card.**

**"I have the right shape for it," she said. Chubb had to agree that she was well rounded."**

'Not anymore' Jenny thought. She had little time to enjoy the food these days. She was mostly taste testing. She tried to make herself look better after she had first met Gilan.

"**Arald, not for the first time that morning, hid a smile." She has a point there, Chubb," he put in, and the cook turned to him in agreement." Shape is important, sir. All great cooks tend to be… rounded." He turned back to the girl, still considering. It was all very well for the others to accept their trainees in the wink of an eye, he thought. But cooking was something special.**

**"Tell me," he said to the eager girl, "what would you do with a turkey pie?"**

**Jenny smiled dazzlingly at him. "Eat it," she answered immediately."**

More laughter went around the room at Jenny's sense of humour.

"So would we," said Halt, "So would we."

"With coffee," said Gilan looking dreamy.

"And honey," said Will.

"And honey," Gilan repeated.

"Okay, how about we have a coffee break at the end of the chapter?" asked Halt.

"Fine with me," said Duncan, who, like everyone else was now drooling at the thought of coffee.

"**Chubb rapped her on the head with the ladle he carried. "I meant what would you do about cooking it?" he asked.**

**Jenny hesitated, gathered her thoughts, then plunged into a lengthy technical description of how she would go about constructing such a masterpiece. The other four wards, the Baron, his Craftmasters and Martin listened in some awe, with absolutely no comprehension of what she was saying."**

"I don't think anyone but a chef would understand what was going on," said Pauline.

"I knew what was going on," Halt said.

"What was said," Pauline asked.

"How to make a turkey pie," said Halt.

Pauline shook his head at her husband's antics.

"**Chubb, however, nodded several times as she spoke, interrupting as she detailed the rolling of the pastry.**

**"Nine times, you say?" he said curiously and Jenny nodded, sure of her ground.**

**"My mother always said: 'Eight times to make it flaky and once more for love,'" she said. Chubb nodded thoughtfully."**

"That would have certainly got his attention. A change in his method," said Rodney.

"**"Interesting. Interesting," he said, then, looking up at the Baron, he nodded. "I'll take her, my lord."**

**"What a surprise," the Baron said mildly, then added, "Very well, report to the kitchens in the morning, Jennifer."**

**"Jenny, sir," the girl corrected him again, her smile lighting up the room.**

**Baron Arald smiled. He glanced at the small group before him. "And that leaves us with one more candidate." He glanced at his list, then looked up to meet Will's agonized gaze, gesturing encouragement.**

**Will stepped forward, nervousness suddenly drying his throat so that his voice came out in barely a whisper.**

**"Will, sir. My name is Will.""**

"Dun Dun Dun," said Cassandra.

"Hey, it was hard," Will said.

Cassandra didn't think she would ever know how it would feel like to have to go through the choosing ceremony. She was a princess. She had grown up with royalty. Crowley's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Now where's my coffee?" he asked.

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><p>I hope I don't take that long a break again. I enabled anonymous reviews, I don't know why I was stupid enough to disable anyway. So now nobody has an excuse for not reviewing.<p>

So I've been sick for a while and I couldn't update. Then I got sick of being sick and sick of everyone telling me to stay in bed.

It took ages but I finally got this chapter finished.

Until next time, this is Tia97 saying it sucks to be sick. (Also saying Merry Christmas if I can't update before Christmas.)


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

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><p>After everyone was had been served their cups of coffees (with honey for Halt, Will and Gilan), Halt passed on the book to Cassandra who already had her hand outstretched. A part of Cassandra was excited to see what happened at the choosing ceremony. She had wanted to see where Will's journey had begun.<p>

"**"Will? Will who?" Martin asked in exasperation, flicking through the sheets of paper with the candidates' details written on them. He had only been the Baron's secretary for five years and so knew nothing of Will's history. He realized now that there was no family name on the boy's papers and, assuming he had let this mistake slip past, he was annoyed at himself."**

"Is there ever a time when he isn't annoyed at something?" Rodney chuckled.

"Yeah," replied Halt, "The time his lordship sent a message to Redmont requesting the presence of the baron and he missed it. He was furious that Redmont wasn't given a chance to represent themselves at some boring feast."

"**"What's your family name, boy?" he asked severely. Will looked at him, hesitating, hating this moment.**

**" I… don't have…" he began, but mercifully the Baron interceded.**

**"Will is a special case, Martin," he said quietly, his look telling the secretary to let the matter go. He turned back to Will, smiling encouragement."**

"It didn't really help sir," Will chuckled.

"Your right about that," Jenny said, "You were as pale as a ghost. I just thought you didn't have enough breakfast."

Everyone laughed at Jenny's point of view. You could always trust her to nail everything down to food.

"**"What school did you wish to apply for, Will?" he asked.**

**"Battleschool, please, my lord," Will replied, trying to sound confident in his choice. The Baron allowed a frown to crease his forehead and Will felt his hopes sinking."**

"I am sorry," Arald apologised, "But I think everything turned out for the best."

The others nodded in agreement. Will just wasn't meant to be in battleschool. He belonged with the rangers.

"**"Battleschool, Will? You don't think you're… a little on the small side?" the Baron asked gently. Will bit his lip. He had all but convinced himself that if he wanted this badly enough, if he believed in himself strongly enough, he would be accepted-in spite of his obvious shortcomings.**

**"I haven't had my growing spurt yet, sir," he said desperately. "Everybody says that." The Baron rubbed his bearded chin with thumb and forefinger as he considered the boy before him. He glanced to his Battlemaster.**

**"Rodney?" he said.**

**The tall knight stepped forward, studied Will for a moment or two, then slowly shook his head."**

"Sor-," Rodney was trying to apologise but Will had cut him off.

"I already know what you're about to say, but doesn't everyone in this room agree that things turned out for the best?" Will asked.

A silent agreement passed around the room.

"Now that that's sorted, let's read shall we," and Will took a glance in Cassandra's direction smirking at the sight of her bouncing up and down in her seat in anticipation.

""**I'm afraid he's too small, my lord," he said. Will felt a cold hand clutch his heart.**

**"I'm stronger than I look, sir," he said. But the Battlemaster was unswayed by the plea. He glanced at the Baron, obviously not enjoying the situation, and shook his head.**

**"Any second choice, Will?" the Baron asked. His voice was gentle, even concerned.**

**Will hesitated for a long moment. He had never considered any other selection.**

**"Horseschool, sir?" he asked finally."**

"Why on earth would you want to go there?" Cassie asked.

"I never did understand why you asked for that position," Jenny mused.

"Can you all stop commenting so much, I want to read," Cassandra complained.

"Wow, my wife wants read, your life must be pretty interesting," Horace joked.

Duncan chuckled at this and the next thing they heard in the room was the sound of a large book hitting a certain knight of the Oakleaf on the back of the head.

"Don't mess with me black bear," Cassie said with a sparkle in her eye.

"**Horseschool trained and cared for the mighty battlehorses that the castle's knights rode. It was at least a link to Battleschool, Will thought."**

"So that's why you chose it," Jenny said.

"Did, you already have a backup or did you think of that reason on the spot," Alyss asked.

"I thought of it on the spot."

"That goes to show what a quick thinker you are," Pauline thought.

"And what a good ranger he'll make," Crowley added.

"A big headed one by the end of the book," grumbled Halt, even though he was admiring Will's skill.

"**But Ulf, the Horsemaster, was shaking his head already, even before the Baron asked his opinion.**

**"I need apprentices, my lord," he said, "but this one's too small. He'd never control one of my battlehorses. They'd stomp him into the ground as soon as they look at him.""**

"Well that wasn't very polite of him," Duncan commented.

"Dad, you think so highly of everyone. They're not all as laid back as you are," Cassie stated.

"**Will could only see the Baron through a watery blur now. He fought desperately to keep the tears from sliding down his cheeks. That would be the ultimate humiliation: to be rejected from Battleschool and then to break down and cry like a baby in front of the Baron, all the Craftmasters and his wardmates."**

"Especially me," Horace said, "I would have tortured you."

"Well it was a good thing we were separated after that day," Will replied.

"**"What skills do you have, Will?" the Baron was asking him."**

"The skills of an awesome ranger," spoke Gilan.

Jenny shook her head at Gil's foolishness.

"**Will racked his brain. He wasn't good at lessons and languages, as Alyss was. He couldn't form neat, perfect letters, the way George did. Nor did he have Jenny's interest in cooking.**

**And he certainly didn't have Horace's muscles and strength."**

"You keep comparing yourself to your ward mates too much. You should have believed in yourself."

When Pauline said this she eyed Horace as well. She suspected he might have some confidence issues. Then she told herself that these events had already passed.

"**"I'm a good climber, sir," he said finally, seeing that the Baron was waiting for him to say something. It was a mistake, he realized instantly. Chubb, the cook, glared at him angrily.**

**"He can climb, all right. I remember when he climbed up a drainpipe into my kitchen and stole a tray of sweetcakes that were cooling on the windowsill.""**

The room burst into laughter and Will turned to a deep shade of red**.**

"I was young," he protested.

"And obviously very sneaky," Cassandra cried.

"**Will's jaw dropped with the unfairness of it all. That had been two years ago! He was a child then and it was a mere childish prank, he wanted to say. But now the Scribemaster was talking too.**

**"And just this last spring he climbed up to our third-floor study and turned two rabbits loose during one of our legal debates. Most disruptive. Absolutely!"**

**"Rabbits, you say, Scribemaster?" said the Baron, and Nigel nodded emphatically.**

**"A male and a female rabbit, my lord, if you take my meaning?" he replied. "Most disruptive indeed!""**

"But if it was during spring, then wouldn't-"

"Say no more Cassandra, I think we all get the point," Duncan said as he was shaking with fits of laughter.

"**Unseen by Will, the very serious Lady Pauline put one elegant hand in front of her mouth. She might have been concealing a yawn. But when she removed the hand, the corners of her mouth were slightly uptilted still."**

Not able to help themselves, the room burst into a fit of laughter.

"It hurt not being able to laugh at this the first time," Arald choked.

"**"Well, yes," said the Baron. "We all know how rabbits are."**

**"And, as I said, my lord, it was spring." Nigel went on, in case the Baron had missed the point."**

"I think it was hard to miss the point," Crowley laughed.

" **Lady Pauline gave vent to an unladylike cough."**

"A cough?"

"Yes dear, a cough. Do you want me to tell you what it is?"

"Don't mock me," Halt scolded his wife.

"Sorry I was only trying to help," Pauline replied and she turned away from Halt o hide a smile.

"**The Baron looked in her direction, in some surprise.**

**"I think we get the picture, Scribemaster," he said, then returned his gaze to the desperate figure that stood in front of him. Will kept his chin up and stared straight ahead. The Baron felt for the young lad in that moment. He could see the tears welling up in those lively brown eyes, held back only by an infinite determination. Willpower, he thought abstractedly, recognizing the play on the boy's name."**

"It's not a coincidence, it was meant to be," Alyss thought.

"**He didn't enjoy putting the boy through all this, but it had to be done. He sighed inwardly.**

**"Is there any one of you who could use this boy?" he said."**

Cassandra was angry at the Baron,

"You made him sound like he was some old rag," she muttered.

"I'm sorry," Arald replied, "I just wanted the situation to end quickly.

"**Despite himself, Will allowed his head to turn and gaze pleadingly at the line of Craftmasters, praying that one of them would relent and accept him. One by one, silently, they shook their heads.**

**Surprisingly, it was the Ranger who broke the awful silence in the room."**

"I forgot you were still so mysterious to all these people at the time," Crowley muttered, "But everyone knows you're a big old softie a heart."

"**"There is something you should know about this boy, my lord," he said. Will had never heard Halt speak before. His voice was deep and soft-spoken, with the slightest burr of a Hibernian accent still noticeable."**

Halt again admired the fact that Will had been subject to no ranger training and yet he was still so observant.

"**He stepped forward now and handed the Baron a sheet of paper, folded double. Arald unfolded it, studied the words written there and frowned.**

**"You're sure of this, Halt?" he said.**

**"Indeed, my lord."**

**The Baron carefully refolded the paper and placed it on his desk. He drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the desktop, then said:**

**"I'll have to think on this overnight.""**

"What did you have to think about?" Cassandra asked.

"If this is Will's story then it might come up in the next chapter," Arald replied.

"**Halt nodded and stepped back, seeming to fade into the background as he did so. Will stared anxiously at him, wondering what information the mysterious figure had passed on to the Baron. Like most people, Will had grown up believing that Rangers were people who were best avoided. They were a secretive, arcane group, shrouded in mystery and uncertainty, and that uncertainty led to fear."**

"That's how we work best," Crowley said solemnly.

"**Will didn't like the thought that Halt knew something about him-something that he felt was important enough to bring to the Baron's attention today, of all days. The sheet of paper lay there, tantalizingly close, yet impossibly far away.**

**He realized that there was movement around him and the Baron was speaking to the other people in the room.**

**"Congratulations to those who were selected here today. It's a big day for all of you, so you're free to have the rest of the day off and enjoy yourselves. The kitchens will provide a banquet for you in your quarters and for the rest of the day you have free run of the castle and the village.**

**"Tomorrow, you'll report to your new Craftmasters first thing in the morning. And if you'll take a tip from me, you'll make sure you're on time." He smiled at the other four, then addressed Will, with a hint of sympathy in his voice.**

**"Will, I'll let you know tomorrow what I've decided about you. "He turned to Martin and gestured for him to show the new apprentices out. "Thank you, everyone," he said, and left the room through the door behind his desk.**

**The Craftmasters followed his lead, then Martin ushered the former wards to the door. They chatted together excitedly, relieved and delighted that they had been selected by the Craftmasters of their choice."**

Alyss, Jenny and Horace looked at each other guiltily.

"It's alright, you guys were happy," Will said, "You deserved to celebrate."

"**Will hung back behind the others, hesitating as he passed the desk where that sheet of paper still lay. He stared at it for a moment, as if somehow he could see through to the words written on the reverse side. Then he felt that same sensation that he had felt earlier, that someone was watching him. He looked up and found himself staring into the dark eyes of the Ranger, who remained behind the Baron's high-backed chair, almost invisible in that strange cloak of his.**

**Will shuddered in a sudden frisson of fear and hurried out of the room."**

"I can't believe you were scared of Halt."

"Hey I was only fifteen Cassie give me a break."

* * *

><p>I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Especially to rangerforever6 who told me to update before Christmas. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and a happy new year. I leave for a two week cruise on Wednesday and then I have to go back to school. I won't be able to update often but I'll try for one chapter every week (I'm not allowed on the computer on weekdays)<p>

Feel free to review. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Tia97


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

* * *

><p>Cassie handed the book to Duncan who had his hand outstretched, although she would have rather read this chapter herself as she hated cliff-hangers. Duncan turned the page and started.<p>

"**It was long after midnight. The flickering torches around the castle yard, already replaced once, had begun to burn low again. Will had watched patiently for hours, waiting for this moment-when the light was uncertain and the guards were yawning, in the last hour of their shift."**

"You really need to do an inspection of the castle guards Arald," Rodney commented.

"Actually we're due for one as well," Duncan said, "Horace I'll need you there for their assessment."

"Yes sir."

"**The day had been one of the worst he could remember. While his yearmates celebrated, enjoying their feast and then spending their time in lighthearted horseplay through the castle and the village, Will had slipped away to the silence of the forest, a kilometer or so from the castle walls. There, in the dim green coolness beneath the trees, he had spent the afternoon reflecting bitterly on the events of the Choosing, nursing the deep pain of disappointment and wondering what the Ranger's paper said."**

"You know a good ranger is always curious and inquisitive," Crowley said.

"**As the long day wore on, and the shadows began to lengthen in the open fields beside the forest, he came to a decision.**

**He had to know what was on the paper. And he had to know tonight."**

"Of course you did dear," Alyss crooned.

"**Once night fell, he made his way back to the castle, avoiding villagers and castle folk alike, and secreted himself in the branches of the fig tree again. On the way, he slipped unnoticed into the kitchens and helped himself to bread, cheese and apples."**

Jenny reached around Gilan and gave Will a hard slap.

"That's for the food you stole. I can't believe you didn't learn your lesson from the time Chubb caught you," Jenny barked.

"**He munched moodily on these, barely tasting them"**

Jenny got upset again.

"You didn't even take the time to appreciate the good food you had. I could've made quite a number of dishes with those ingredients."

"Name one," Horace challenged.

"I can't think of one now. I would have to go through my recipe book."

Duncan's stomach made a very audible growl.

"Speaking of food, I think we might have dinner after this," Duncan groaned.

With that the rest of the men in the room cried "Hear hear."

"**, as the evening passed and the castle began to settle down for the night.**

**He observed the movements of the guards, getting a feeling for their timing as they went on their regular rounds. In addition to the guard troop, there was a sergeant on duty at the doorway of the tower that led to Baron Arald's quarters. But he was overweight and sleepy and there was little chance that he would pose a risk to Will."**

"I miss Gerald," Arald murmured "He was a loyal person. He passed away some years ago."

"**After all, he had no intention of using the door or the stairway."**

"How the hell did you get up there?!" Horace yelled.

At the same time Rodney said, "We really need to do security checks."

"**Over the years, his insatiable curiosity, and a penchant for going places where he wasn't supposed to, had developed within him the skill of moving across seemingly open space without being seen."**

"I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing," Arald muttered.

"Then obviously you don't know anything about rangers sir," Halt replied politely.

"I think that's a good thing," stated Crowley

"Otherwise everyone would know all about us," laughed Gilan.

"**As the wind stirred the upper branches of the trees, they created moving patterns in the moonlight-patterns that Will now used to great effect. He instinctively matched his movement to the rhythm of the trees, blending easily into the pattern of the yard, becoming part of it and so being concealed by it. In a way, the lack of obvious cover made his task a little easier. The fat sergeant didn't expect anyone to be moving across the open space of the yard. So, not expecting to see anyone, he failed to do so."**

"You know," Duncan started, "I'm beginning to see how rangers think."

"My lord, with all due respect," Will said, "You're not even getting close."

"**Breathless, Will flattened himself against the rough stone of the tower wall. The sergeant was barely five meters away and Will could hear his heavy breathing, but a small buttress in the wall hid him from the man's sight. He studied the wall in front of him, craning back to look up. The Baron's office window was a long way up, and farther around the tower. To reach it, he would have to climb up, then work his way across the face of the wall, to a spot beyond the point where the sergeant stood guard, then up again to the window. He licked his lips nervously. Unlike the smooth inner walls of the tower, the huge blocks of stone that comprised the tower's outer wall had large gaps between them. Climbing would be no problem. He'd have plenty of foot- and handholds all the way up. In some places, the stone would have been worn smooth by the weather over the years, he knew, and he'd have to go carefully. But he'd climbed all the other three towers at some time in the past and he expected no real difficulty with this one.**

**But this time, if he were seen, he wouldn't be able to pass it off as a prank. He would be climbing in the middle of the night to a part of the castle where he had no right to be. After all, the Baron didn't post guards on this tower for the fun of it. People were supposed to stay away unless they had business here."**

"You did have business there young Will," Arald spoke.

"**He rubbed his hands together nervously. What could they do to him? He had already been passed over in the Choosing. Nobody wanted him. He was condemned to a life in the fields already. What could be worse than that?"**

"Living with Halt for a few years, he snores too loudly," Will joked.

"Really, I always thought Halt slept like an angel. He never makes any noise," Pauline commented.

Pauline fought back a smile while everyone laughed at a mortified Halt.

"**But there was a nagging doubt at the back of his mind: He wasn't absolutely sure that he was condemned to that life. A faint spark of hope still remained. Perhaps the Baron would relent. Perhaps, if Will pleaded with him in the morning, and explained about his father and how important it was for him to be accepted for Battleschool, there was a very faint chance that his wish would be granted. And then, once he was accepted, he could show how his eagerness and dedication would make him a worthy student, until his growing spurt happened.**

**On the other hand, if he were caught in the next few minutes, not even that small chance would remain. He had no idea what they would do to him if he were caught, but he could be reasonably sure that it wouldn't involve being accepted into Battleschool.**

**He hesitated, needing some slight extra push to get him going. It was the fat sergeant who provided it. Will heard the heavy intake of breath, the shuffling of the man's studded boots against the flagstones as he gathered his equipment together, and he realized that the sergeant was about to make one of his irregular circuits of his beat. Usually, this entailed going a few meters around the tower to either side of the doorway, then returning to his original position. It was more for the purpose of staying awake than anything else, but Will realized that it would bring them face-to-face within the next few seconds if he didn't do something.**

**Quickly, easily, he began to swarm up the wall. He made the first five meters in a matter of seconds, spread out against the rough stone like a giant, four-legged spider. Then, hearing the heavy footsteps directly below him, he froze, clinging to the wall in case some slight noise might alert the sentry."**

"When you say clinging do you mean you were about to fall off?" Cassandra asked.

"Very nearly but I did get caught."

There were shocked faces around the room as everyone took in what Will had just said.

"Why did you never tell me," Alyss hissed.

"It never seemed important. But you'll find out how I got to become a ranger soon enough."

With the room becoming silent Duncan continued to read.

"**In fact, it seemed that the sergeant had heard something. He paused directly below the point where Will clung, peering into the night, trying to see past the dappled, moving shadows cast by the moon and the swaying trees. But, as Will had thought the night before, people seldom look up. The sergeant, eventually satisfied that he had heard nothing significant, continued to march slowly around the tower.**

**That was the chance Will needed. It also gave him the opportunity to move across the tower face so that he was directly below the window he wanted. Hands and feet finding purchase easily, he moved almost as fast as a man could walk, all the time going higher and higher up the tower wall."**

Cassandra, who was afraid of heights, shivered at what Will had gone through.

"**At one point, he looked down and that was a mistake. Despite his good head for heights, his vision swam slightly as he saw how far he had come, and how far below him the hard flagstones of the castle yard were. The sergeant was coming back into view-a tiny figure when seen from this height. Will blinked the moment of vertigo away and continued to climb, perhaps a little more slowly and with a little more care than before.**

**There was a heart-stopping moment when, stretching his right foot to a new foothold, his left boot slipped on the weather-rounded edge of the massive building blocks, and he was left clinging by his hands alone as he desperately scrabbled for a foothold."**

Everyone except the rangers held their breath at what was about to happen. Cassandra was rocking back and forth as if trying to protect her unborn child.

"**Then he recovered and kept moving."**

Everyone let their breath out and then turned to each other and laughed at how dramatic this little scene looked.

"**He felt a surge of relief as his hands finally closed over the stone window ledge and he heaved himself up and into the room, swinging his legs over the sill and dropping lightly inside.**

**The Baron's office was deserted, of course. The three-quarter moon streamed light in through the big window.**

**And there, on the desk where the Baron had left it, was the single sheet of paper that held the answer to Will's future."**

"Dramatic much," Halt sighed.

"**Nervously, he glanced around the room. The Baron's huge, high-backed chair stood like a sentry behind the desk. The few other pieces of furniture loomed dark and motionless. On one wall, a portrait of one of the Baron's ancestors glared down at him, accusingly."**

"That would be my great grandfather," Arald sighed, "he always told my father that he and any son of his would never amount to anything."

"If he was so cruel, why did you keep his portrait?" Alyss enquired.

Pauline laughed having already heard the answer. The others leaned in eagerly awaiting the Baron's reply.

"Put it there to remind myself that my family was power hungry and the worst type of people around," the Baron replied, "also so I can say 'take that great grandfather."

The room laughed at Arald's _heartwarming_ family story.

"**He shook off these fanciful thoughts and crossed quickly to the desk, his soft boots making no noise on the bare boards of the floor. The sheet of paper, bright white with the reflected moonlight, was within reach. Just look at it, read it and go, he told himself. That was all he had to do. He stretched out a hand for it.**

**His fingers touched it.**

**And a hand shot out of nowhere and seized him by the wrist!"**

Duncan shouted the last part and everyone backed away in fright. Halt smiled and thought to himself 'How's that for dramatic.'

"**Will shouted aloud in fright. His heart leaped into his mouth and he found himself looking up into the cold eyes of Halt the Ranger."**

"Oh no. Get me away from the big bad ranger," Cassandra joked and soon everyone joined in.

"Halt's as tall as three men."

"He can kill a man by just staring at them."

"He knows dark magic."

The room laughed at each other's antics.

"**Where had he come from? Will had been sure there had been nobody else in the room. And there had been no sound of a door opening. Then he remembered how the Ranger could wrap himself in that strange, mottled, gray-green cloak of his and seem to melt into the background, blending with the shadows until he was invisible.**

**Not that it mattered how Halt had done it. The real problem was that he had caught Will, here in the Baron's office. And that meant the end to all Will's hopes."**

"I can't believe you were so pessimistic," Jenny exclaimed.

"I'm not. You're just too optimistic," Will retorted.

"**"Thought you might try something like this," said the Ranger in a low voice.**

**Will, his heart pounding from the shock of the last few moments, said nothing. He hung his head in shame and despair.**

**"Do you have anything to say?" Halt asked him, and Will shook his head, unwilling to look up and meet that dark, penetrating gaze. Halt's next words confirmed Will's worst fears.**

**"Well, let's see what the Baron thinks about this," he said.**

**"Please, Halt! Not…" Then Will stopped. There was no excuse for what he had done and the least he could do was face his punishment like a man. Like a warrior. Like his father, he thought.**

**The Ranger studied him for a moment. Will thought he saw a brief flicker of… recognition? Then the eyes darkened once more.**

**"What?" Halt said curtly. Will shook his head.**

**"Nothing.""**

"That must have been a scary encounter for your first conversation with Halt," Duncan chuckled.

"It was terrifying."

"**The Ranger's grip was like iron around his wrist as he led Will out the door and onto the wide, curving staircase that led up to the Baron's living quarters. The sentries at the head of the stairs looked up in surprise at the sight of the grim-faced Ranger and the boy beside him. At a brief signal from Halt, they stood aside and opened the doors into the Baron's apartment.**

**The room was brightly lit and, for a moment, Will looked around in confusion. He was sure he had seen the lights go out on this floor while he waited and watched in the tree. Then he saw the heavy drapes across the window and understood. In contrast to the Baron's sparsely furnished working quarters below, this room was a comfortable clutter of settees, footstools, carpets, tapestries and armchairs. In one of these, Baron Arald sat, reading through a pile of reports.**

**He looked up from the page he was holding as Halt entered with his captive.**

**"So you were right," said the Baron, and Halt nodded."**

"You already knew?" Duncan inquired.

"Halt told me that Will might try to pull it off," Arald said lightly.

"**"Just as I said, my lord. Came across the castle yard like a shadow. Dodged the sentry as if he wasn't there and came up the tower wall like a spider."**

**The Baron set the report down on a side table and leaned forward. "He climbed the tower, you say?" he asked, a trifle incredulously.**

**"No rope. No ladder, my lord. Climbed it as easily as you get on your horse in the morning. Easier, in fact," Halt said, with just the ghost of a smile."**

To the Baron's discomfort everyone held back giggles.

"Oh just go on and make fun of me already," said Arald.

With that the room was filled with laughter and it took a while for everyone to calm down.

"**The Baron frowned. He was a little overweight and sometimes he needed help getting on his horse after a late night. He obviously wasn't amused by Halt's reminding him of the fact."**

Arald however found that the circumstances had changed and joined in with the laughter.

"**"Well now," he said, looking sternly at Will, "this is a serious matter."**

**Will said nothing. He wasn't sure if he should agree or disagree. Either course had its dangers. But he wished Halt hadn't put the Baron in a bad mood by referring to his weight."**

"You had nothing to be afraid of Will. He always comments on my weight. If it's not my wife it's always Halt," laughed Arald.

" **It certainly wouldn't make things any better for him.**

**"So, what shall we do with you, young Will?" the Baron continued. He rose from his chair and began to pace. Will looked up at him, trying to gauge his mood. The strong, bearded face told him nothing. The Baron stopped his pacing and fingered his beard thoughtfully.**

**"Tell me, young Will," he said, facing away from the miserable boy, "what would you do in my place? What would you do with a boy who broke into your office in the middle of the night and tried to steal an important document?"**

**"I wasn't stealing, my lord!" The denial burst from Will before he could contain it. The Baron turned to him, one eyebrow raised in apparent disbelief. Will continued weakly, "I just… wanted to see it, that's all."**

**"Perhaps so," said the Baron, that eyebrow still raised. "But you haven't answered my question. What would you do in my place?""**

"That was taking things a little too far don't you think sir?"

"Rodney, I was merely doing what Halt told me to do."

"**Will hung his head again. He could plead. He could apologize. He could ask for mercy. He could try to explain. But then he squared his shoulders and came to a decision. He had known the consequences of being caught. And he had chosen to take the risk. He had no right now to plead for forgiveness.**

**"My lord…" he said, hesitantly, knowing that this was a decisive moment in his life. The Baron regarded him, still half turned from the window.**

**"Yes?" he said, and Will somehow found the resolve to go on.**

**"My lord, I don't know what I'd do in your place. I do know there is no excuse for my actions and I will accept whatever punishment you decide.""**

"A diplomatic answer," Pauline commented.

"**As he spoke, he raised his face to look the Baron in the eye. And in doing so, he caught the Baron's quick glance to Halt. There was something in that glance, he saw. Strangely, it was almost a look of approval, or agreement. Then it was gone.**

**"Any suggestions, Halt?" the Baron asked, in a carefully neutral tone.**

**Will looked at the Ranger now. His face was stern, as it always was. The grizzled gray beard and short hair made him seem even more disapproving, more ominous.**

**"Perhaps we should show him the paper he was so keen to see, my lord," he said, producing the single sheet from inside his sleeve.**

**The Baron allowed a smile to break through. "Not a bad idea," he said. "I suppose, in a way, it does spell out his punishment, doesn't it?""**

"So you were getting me back for all the weight comments," asked Halt.

The smile on Arald's face gave Halt his answer.

"**Will glanced from one man to the other. There was something going on here that he didn't understand. The Baron seemed to think that what he had just said was rather amusing. Halt, on the other hand, wasn't sharing in the fun.**

**"If you say so, my lord," he replied evenly. The Baron waved a hand at him impatiently.**

**"Take a joke, Halt! Take a joke! Well, go on and show him the paper.""**

"Where's you sense of humour Halt?" Jenny asked absentmindedly.

All those who knew Halt knew that he would have been laughing on the inside.

"**The Ranger crossed the room and handed Will the sheet he had risked so much to see. His hand trembled as he took it. His punishment? But how had the Baron known he would deserve punishment before the actual event?**

**He realized that the Baron was watching him expectantly. Halt, as ever, was an impassive statue. Will unfolded the sheet and read the words Halt had written there.**

**The boy Will has the potential to be trained as a Ranger.**

**I will accept him as my apprentice."**

"On that cheerful note, let's have dinner shall we."

The gang left the Kings cosy private living room and went to the hall for dinner.

* * *

><p>Sorry for the slow update. I had lots of homework.<p>

Tia97


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

* * *

><p>Duncan closed the book and everyone was led to the Kings private dining hall for all of his closest friends. Many people didn't even know that this hall existed.<p>

Dinner was served and while everyone at, they bombarded Will with questions about what happened. Even Duncan, Arald and Rodney who seemed at ease and felt no need for formalities.

When the questions were done dessert and coffee was brought back to Duncan's private quarters, Crowley picked up the book and started to read.

"**Will stared at the words on the paper in utter confusion."**

"It feels like I had entered a whole other world that night," Will reminisced.

"**His first reaction was one of relief."**

"Relief? I would be feeling scared to the core," said Horace.

"It really isn't that scary," Gilan started, "I mean at first it's a shock and then you realise you'll be accepted into a whole community of people who share the secrets of being a ranger."

"**He wasn't to be condemned to a lifetime of farmwork. And he wasn't to be punished for his actions in the Baron's study. Then that initial sense of relief gave way to a sudden, nagging doubt. He knew nothing about Rangers, beyond myth and superstition. He knew nothing about Halt-apart from the fact that the grim, gray-cloaked figure had made him feel nervous whenever he was around."**

"I should offer you a pay rise Halt," Duncan commented.

"**Now, it seemed, he was being assigned to spend all his time with him. And he wasn't sure that he liked the idea at all."**

"Well you have to admit that Halt is pretty grim," Duncan pointed out, "I'm not sure how you and Gilan survived an entire apprenticeship with him let alone a day."

"You get used to it my Lord," Pauline replied.

"Yeah, once you get past the first few months where he makes you clean his cabin and run his errands you find that it's half decent," Will laughed.

"He made you do all that?" Rodney exclaimed.

"_He_ is sitting right here you know and_ he_ says it's an effective part of training," Halt mumbled.

"Not all of it, what was the point of me doing your washing?" Gilan asked.

"The point was that I needed my washing done and you needed to learn how to do your own washing," Halt replied.

"**He looked up at the two men. The Baron, he could see, was smiling expectantly. Apparently, he felt that Will should greet his decision as good news. He couldn't see Halt's face clearly. The deep cowl of his cloak left his face in shadow.**

**The Baron's smile faded slightly. He appeared a little puzzled by Will's reaction to the news-or rather, his lack of any visible reaction,**

**"Well, what do you say, Will?" he asked, in an encouraging tone. Will drew a deep breath.**

**"Thank you, sir…my lord," he said uncertainly. What if the Baron's earlier joke about the note containing his punishment was more serious than he thought? Maybe being assigned to be Halt's apprentice was the worst punishment he could have chosen. But the Baron certainly didn't look as if he thought so. He seemed to be very pleased with the idea, and Will knew he wasn't an unkind man. The Baron gave a little sigh of pleasure as he lowered himself into an armchair. He looked up at the Ranger and gestured toward the door.**

**"Perhaps you might give us a few moments alone, Halt? I'd like to have a word with Will in private," he said. The Ranger bowed gravely.**

**"Certainly, my lord," he said, the voice coming from deep inside the cowl. He moved, silently as ever, past Will and out through the door that led to the corridor outside. The door closed behind him with barely a sound, and Will shivered. The man was uncanny!"**

"Why thank-you."

"Don't get a big head sweetie," Pauline scolded, "It's big enough as it is."

It took a while for the laughter to die down. Even then most of the room's occupants were sniggering behind their hands.

"**"Sit down, Will." The Baron gestured to one of the low armchairs facing his own. Will sat nervously on the edge of it, as if poised for flight. The Baron noted his body language and sighed.**

**"You don't seem very pleased with my decision," he said, sounding disappointed. The reaction puzzled Will. He wouldn't have thought a powerful figure like the Baron would care one way or another what an insignificant ward would think about his decisions."**

"I care about all my wards; they deserve the best chance possible in life."

"**He didn't know how to answer, so he sat in silence, until finally the Baron continued.**

**"Would you prefer to work as a farmhand?" he asked. He couldn't believe that a lively, energetic boy like this could possibly prefer such a dull, uneventful life, but maybe he was wrong. Will hurriedly reassured him on that score.**

**"No, sir!" he said hastily. The Baron made a small, questioning gesture with his hands.**

**"Well then, would you prefer that I punished you somehow for what you've done?"**

**Will started to speak, then realized that his answer might be insulting and stopped. The Baron gestured for him to continue.**

**"It's just that… I'm not sure you haven't, sir," he said."**

"Oooh, brave choice Will," Horace commented.

"How in the name of Hades did you have the courage to climb a castle wall into the Baron's private quarters and then question the Baron's decision?" Jenny exclaimed

"That's even worse than the time I followed Halt when I was nine. The worst part was that I got thrown in the lake but this is incredible," agreed Gilan.

"It's his ranger heart," explained Crowley, "We all have that side to us where we question a higher authority with our thirst for knowledge. This side is just more dominant in rangers."

"No just more dominant in Will you old fool," Halt said with a smile.

"Like I said, rangers question a higher authority and disrespect their seniors," Crowley laughed.

"**Then, noticing the frown that creased the Baron's forehead as he said the words, he hurried on: "I… I don't know much about Rangers, sir. And people say…" He let the words trail off. It was obvious that the Baron held Halt in some esteem and Will didn't think it was politic for him to point out that ordinary people feared Rangers and thought they were warlocks. He saw that the Baron was nodding, and a look of understanding had replaced the perplexed expression he had been wearing.**

**"Of course. People say they're black magicians, don't they?" he agreed and Will nodded, not even realizing he was doing so. "Tell me, Will, do you find Halt to be a frightening person?"**

**"No, sir!" Will said hastily, then, as the Baron held his gaze, he reluctantly added, "Well… maybe a bit." The Baron leaned back, steepling his fingers together. Now that he understood the reasons for the boy's reluctance, he berated himself mentally for not foreseeing them. After all, he had a better knowledge of the Ranger Corps than he could expect of a young boy just turned fifteen who was subjected to the usual superstitious mutterings of the castle staff.**

**"The Rangers are a mysterious group of people," he said. "But there's nothing about them to be frightened of-unless you're an enemy of the kingdom." He could see that the boy was hanging on his every word, and he added, jokingly, "You're not an enemy of the kingdom, are you, Will?"**

**"No, sir!" Will said in sudden fright, and the Baron sighed again."**

"The jokes, the jokes," Arald moaned, "Nobody in that castle or on the street can take a joke."

"They can take a good joke sir," Halt added.

The Baron was of course red in the face as everyone tried to keep a straight face out of respect.

"**He hated it when people didn't realize he was joking. Unfortunately, as overlord of the castle, his words were treated with great seriousness by most people."**

"As you should be," Pauline said gravely.

"**"All right, all right," he said reassuringly. "I know you're not. But believe me, I thought you'd be glad of this appointment-an adventurous lad like you should take to life as a Ranger like a duck to water. It's a big opportunity for you, Will." He paused, studying the boy closely, seeing that he was still uncertain about the whole matter. "Very few boys are chosen to be apprentice Rangers, you know. The opportunity only comes up on rare occasions." Will nodded. But he still wasn't totally convinced. He thought he owed it to his dream to have one last attempt at Battleschool. After all, the Baron did seem to be in an uncommonly good mood this evening, in spite of the fact that Will had broken into his office.**

**"I wanted to be a warrior, sir," he said tentatively, but the Baron shook his head immediately.**

**"I'm afraid your talents lie in other directions. Halt knew that when he first saw you. That's why he asked for you.""**

"So he did request you," Horace muttered.

"**"Oh," said Will. There wasn't much else he could say. He felt he should be reassured by all that the Baron had said and, to a certain degree, he was. But there was still so much uncertainty to it all, he thought.**

**"It's just that Halt seems to be so grim all the time," he said. "He certainly doesn't have my sparkling sense of humor," the Baron agreed, then, as Will looked blankly at him, he muttered something under his breath."**

"Is the rest of this book going to be filled with your jokes?" Cassandra asked.

"Unfortunately no, it will be filled with my strenuous everyday ranger routine," Will replied.

"**Will wasn't sure what he'd done to upset him, so he thought it best to change the subject. "But… what does a Ranger actually do, my lord?" he asked. Once again, the Baron shook his head.**

**"That's for Halt to tell you himself. They're a quirky group and they don't like other people talking about them too much. Now, perhaps you should go back to your quarters and try to get some sleep. You're to report to Halt's cottage at six o'clock in the morning."**

**"Yes, my lord," Will said, rising from his uncomfortable perch on the edge of the chair. He wasn't sure if he was going to enjoy life as a Ranger's apprentice, but it appeared he had no choice in the matter. He bowed to the Baron, who nodded briefly in return, then he turned away for the door. The Baron's voice stopped him.**

**"Will? This time, use the stairs.""**

"I couldn't believe that you were actually going to climb down the window again," Arald said.

**"Yes, my lord," he replied seriously, and was a little puzzled by the way the Baron rolled his eyes to the sky and muttered to himself again. This time, he could make out a few words. It was something about "jokes," he thought."**

"Of course you were sir, of course," Rodney sighed.

"**He let himself out through the door. The sentries were still on duty on the landing by the stairs, but Halt was gone.**

**Or at least, he appeared to be. With the Ranger, you could never be quite certain."**

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><p>I just got a POTTERMORE account. It's so much fun.<p>

Well another chapter done. Look out for my other stories.

Tia97


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

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><p>"May I read next sir," Jenny asked politely.<p>

"Of course Jenny, please just call me Crowley," the man answered.

"**It felt strange to be leaving the castle after all these years. Will turned back at the bottom of the hill, his small bundle of belongings slung over his shoulder, and stared up at the massive walls.**

**Castle Redmont dominated the landscape. Built on top of a small hill, it was a massive, three-sided structure, facing roughly west and with a tower at each of the three corners. In the center, protected by the three curtain walls, were the castle yard and the Keep, a fourth tower that soared above the others and housed the Baron's official quarters and his private living apartments, along with those of his senior officers. The castle was built in ironstone-a rock that was almost indestructible and, in the low sun of early morning or late afternoon, seemed to glow with an inner red light. It was this characteristic that gave the castle its name-Redmont, or Red Mountain.**

**At the foot of the hill, and on the other side of the Tarbus River, lay Wensley Village, a cheerfully haphazard cluster of houses, with an inn and those craft shops necessary to meet the demands of day-to-day country life-a cooper, wheelwright, smithy and harness maker. The land around had been cleared for some distance, both to provide farmlands for the villagers to tend and to prevent enemies from being able to approach unseen. In times of danger, the villagers would drive their flocks across the wooden bridge that spanned the Tarbus, removing the center span behind them, and seek shelter behind the massive ironstone walls of the castle, protected by the Baron's soldiers and the knights trained in Redmont's Battleschool.**

**Halt's cottage lay some distance away from both castle and village, nestling under the shelter of the trees at the edge of the forest. The sun was just rising over the trees as Will made his way to the log cabin. A thin spiral of smoke was rising from the chimney, so Will reasoned that Halt was already up and about. He stepped up onto the verandah that ran the length of one side of the house, hesitated for a moment, then, taking a deep breath, he knocked firmly on the door.**

**"Come in," said a voice from inside. Will opened the door and went into the cottage.**

**It was small but surprisingly neat and comfortable-looking inside. He found himself in the main room, a combined living and dining area, with a small kitchen at one end, separated from the main area by a pine bench. There were comfortable chairs ranged around a fire, a well-scrubbed wooden table and pots and pans that gleamed from much polishing. There was even a vase of brightly colored wildflowers on the mantel shelf, and the early morning sun streamed cheerfully through a large window. Two other rooms led off the main room."**

"Don't laugh but when I was younger I always thought that rangers had secret evil lairs," Horace said.

"That's what everybody thought," Crowley noted, "It helps give up a reputation."

Will and Gilan didn't hear this as they were too busy snickering. Halt was trying and barely succeeding to keep a straight face and Cassandra was shaking her head at Horace's idiocy.

"**Halt sat in one of the chairs, his booted feet resting on the table. "At least you're on time," he said gruffly."**

"It's been five seconds and you're already being rude," Pauline hissed, "Were you trying to scare him?"

For that Halt was at a loss for words.

"**"Have you had your breakfast yet?"**

**"Yes, sir," said Will, staring in fascination at the Ranger. This was the first time he had ever seen Halt without his gray-green cloak and hood. The Ranger was wearing simple brown and gray woolen clothes and soft-looking leather boots. He was older than Will had realized. His hair and beard were short and dark, but peppered with steel gray flecks. They were both roughly trimmed and Will thought they looked as if Halt had cut them himself with his hunting knife."**

"Good observation but I cut my hair with a saxe knife," Halt said.

"But he doesn't anymore, do you honey," Pauline said.

"Of course not dear, I wouldn't dream of it."

"Oh really," Alyss stated, "It does look rather oddly cut right now."

"Yes Halt," Rodney chimed in, "It does have a certain rough look to it."

The whole room agreed with Rodney and Halt could sense that everybody turning on him.

"Well maybe it just hasn't been cut in a long time," Halt retorted.

"It's very short but very rough Halt, what other explanation is there?" said a very amused Jenny.

Halt had no reply. He shook his head as if everyone was acting stupid but was actually wondering if he should tell his wife about him not getting his hair cut professionally anymore.

"**The Ranger stood up. He was surprisingly small in build. That was something else that Will had never realized. The gray cloak had concealed a lot about Halt. He was slim and not at all tall. In fact he was considerably shorter than average height. But there was a sense of power and whipcord strength about him so that his lack of height and bulk didn't make him any less daunting a figure."**

"I'm glad to hear that," Halt snorted.

"It also means that you're a less likable," Duncan pointed out.

"I wasn't liked very much to begin with."

"**"Finished staring?" asked the Ranger suddenly."**

"Gosh it's scary when you catch us off guard like that," Horace observed.

"It's also funny when you're all startled," Halt replied.

"And it's also funny when you do it to someone other than your apprentice," Gilan laughed.

"**Will jumped nervously. "Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!" he said."**

"I forgot how scared I was back then."

"We all do. We realise that Halt's really just a big softie," Gilan grinned.

"**Halt grunted. He pointed to one of the small rooms Will had noticed as he entered.**

**"That'll be your room. You can put your things in there." He moved away to the woodstove in the kitchen area and Will hesitantly entered the room he had indicated. It was small but, like the rest of the cottage, it was also clean and comfortable-looking. A small bed lay alongside one wall. There was a wardrobe for clothes and a rough table with a washing basin and jug on it. There was also, Will noticed, another vase of freshly picked wildflowers adding a bright spot of color to the room. He put his small bundle of clothes and belongings on the bed and went back into the main room.**

**Halt was still busy by the stove, his back to Will. Will coughed apologetically to attract his attention."**

Gilan shook his head, "Wrong thing to do."

"Why?" Jenny asked.

"You'll see," came the reply.

"**Halt continued to stir coffee into a pot on the stove.**

**Will coughed again.**

**"Got a cold, boy?" asked the Ranger, without turning around. "Er… no, sir."**

**"Then why are you coughing?" asked Halt, turning around to face him."**

"Okay now I see why," Jenny chuckled.

"Are we going to hear all your smart comments in this book Halt," Cassandra asked.

"Yes and you will also see some of Will's stupid and annoying mistakes."

Will groaned as everyone else laughed.

"**Will hesitated. "Well, sir," he began uncertainly, "I just wanted to ask you… what does a Ranger actually do?"**

**"He doesn't ask pointless questions, boy!" said Halt. "He keeps his eyes and ears open and he looks and listens and eventually, if he hasn't got too much cotton wool between his ears, he learns!""**

"But he can't with you yelling at him," Duncan said, "Is this really how you train rangers?"

"Yes, that's why you have such a brilliant and handsome force," Crowley joked.

"**"Oh," said Will. "I see." He didn't, and even though he realized that this was probably no time to ask more questions, he couldn't help himself, repeating, a little rebelliously, "I just wondered what Rangers do, is all."**

**Halt caught the tone in his voice and turned to him, a strange gleam in his eye.**

**"Well then, I suppose I'd better tell you," he said. "What Rangers do, or more correctly, what Rangers' apprentices do, is the housework." Will had a sinking feeling as the suspicion struck him that he'd made a tactical error. "The… housework?" he repeated. Halt nodded, looking distinctly pleased with himself."**

"Housework Halt?" Arald commented.

"I thought we discussed this earlier, get over it _my lord_," Halt said with a feigned effort to be respectful.

"**"That's right. Take a look around." He paused, gesturing around the interior of the cabin for Will to do as he suggested, then continued, "See any servants?"**

**"No, sir," Will said slowly.**

**"No sir indeed!" Halt said. "Because this isn't a mighty castle with a staff of servants. This is a lowly cabin. And it has water to be fetched and firewood to be chopped and floors to be swept and rugs to be beaten. And who do you suppose might do all those things, boy?"**

**Will tried to think of some answer other than the one which now seemed inevitable. Nothing came to mind, so he finally said, in a defeated tone, "Would that be me, sir?""**

"No one's ever going to beat Halt in the battle of the wits," Rodney stated.

"**"I believe it would be," the Ranger told him, then rattled off a list of instructions crisply. "Bucket there. Barrel outside the door. Water in the river. Axe in the lean-to, firewood behind the cabin. Broom by the door and I believe you can probably see where the floor might be?""**

"Come on you could have totally said something smart there," Horace sighed.

"Not really, I was too intimidated," Will admitted.

"It's not easy coming up with something on the spot," Crowley said.

"**"Yes, sir," said Will, beginning to roll up his sleeves. He'd noticed the water barrel as he approached, obviously holding the day's water supply for the cabin. He estimated that it would hold twenty or thirty buckets full. With a sigh, he realized he was going to have a busy morning.**

**As he walked outside, the empty bucket in one hand, he heard the Ranger say contentedly as he poured himself a mug of coffee and sat down again: "I'd forgotten how much fun having an apprentice can be.""**

"I never fully appreciated rangers," Rodney acknowledged.

"**Will couldn't believe that such a small and seemingly neat cottage could generate so much cleaning and general maintenance."**

"Imagine how mush cleaning and general maintenance a castle needs then," Duncan thought.

"**After he had filled the water barrel with fresh river water (thirty-one buckets full), he chopped wood from a stack of logs behind the cabin, piling the split firewood into a neat stack. He swept out the cabin, then, after Halt decided that the rug on the living room floor needed beating, he rolled it up, carried it outside and draped it over a rope slung between two trees, beating it savagely so that clouds of dust flew from it. From time to time, Halt leaned out the window to give him encouragement, which usually consisted of curt comments such as "You've missed a bit on the left side" or "Put some energy into it, boy.""**

"You call that encouragement," Cassandra argued.

"**When the rug had been replaced on the floor, Halt decided that several of his cooking pots didn't gleam with sufficient intensity."**

"We all know what that means," Jenny drawled.

"**"We'll have to give them a bit of a scouring," he said, more or less to himself. Will knew by now that this translated to**

**"You'll have to give them a bit of a scouring. "So, without a word, he took the pots to the river's edge and half filled them with water and fine sand, scouring and polishing the metal until it gleamed.**

**Halt, meanwhile, had moved to a canvas chair on the verandah, where he sat reading through a tall pile of what looked to be official communications. Passing by once or twice, Will noticed that several of the papers bore crests and coats of arms, while the vast majority were headed with a simple oakleaf design.**

"Why is it an oakleaf?" Jenny asked.

"Not really sure Jen, do you know Crowley?" Gilan asked.

"I think we just needed a simple emblem to differentiate ranger's mail to ordinary mail," Crowley replied.

"You have special mail?" Alyss enquired.

"Not really but it's more important than usual mail," Halt answered.

"**When Will returned from the riverbank, he held the pots up for Halt's inspection. The Ranger grimaced at his distorted reflection in the bright copper surface.**

**"Hmmm. Not bad. Can see my own face in it," he said, then added, without a hint of a smile, "May not be such a good thing."**

**Will said nothing. With anyone else he might have suspected it was a joke, but with Halt you simply couldn't tell. Halt studied him for a second or two, then his shoulders lifted slightly in a shrug and he gestured for Will to return the pots to the kitchen. Will was halfway through the door when he heard Halt behind him say: "Hmmm. That's odd." Thinking the Ranger might be talking to him, Will paused at the door.**

**"I beg your pardon?" he said suspiciously. Each time Halt had found a new chore for him to attend to, he had seemed to begin the instruction with a statement like "How unusual. The living room rug is full of dust." Or "I do believe the stove is in dire need of a new supply of firewood," It was an affectation that Will had found more than a little annoying over the day, although Halt seemed to be quite fond of it. This time, however, it seemed that he had been genuinely musing to himself as he read through a new report-one of the oakleaf-crested ones, Will noted. Now, the Ranger looked up, a little surprised that Will had addressed him. "What's that?" he said.**

"Halt not paying attention, that's a new one," Pauline said slyly.

"Well it was a shocking piece of news," the ranger replied.

"**Will shrugged. "Sorry. When you said 'that's odd,' I thought you were talking to me."**

**Halt shook his head several times, still frowning at the report in his hand. "No, no," he said, a trifle distractedly. "I was just reading this…" His voice trailed away and he frowned thoughtfully. Will, his curiosity roused, waited expectantly. "What is it?" he finally ventured to ask. As the Ranger turned those dark eyes on him, he instantly wished he hadn't. Halt regarded him for a second or two.**

**"Curious, are you?" he said at length, and when Will nodded uncomfortably, he went on in an unexpectedly milder tone. "Well, I suppose that's a good trait for a Ranger's apprentice. After all, that's why we tested you with that paper in the Baron's office.""**

"You always seem to know what's going on. Is it just instinct?" Jenny questioned.

"Most of the time it is," Halt answered.

"It's like when you always know what you need in your recipes. If you don't have enough salt for example you always know to add more. Rangers have the same type of instinct," Gilan added.

"**"You tested me?" Will set the heavy copper kettle down by the door. "You expected me to try to see what it said?" Halt nodded. "Would have been disappointed if you hadn't. Also, I wanted to see how you'd go about it." Then he held up a hand to forestall the torrent of questions that were about to tumble out of Will's mouth. "We'll discuss that later," he said, glancing meaningfully at the kettle and the other pots. Will stooped to retrieve them, and turned back to the house once more. But curiosity still burned in him and he turned to the Ranger again.**

**"So what does it say?" he asked, nodding toward the report. Again there was a silence as Halt regarded him, perhaps assessing him. Then he said:**

**"Lord Northolt is dead. Apparently killed by a bear last week while out hunting.""**

"These things don't just happen," Arald started, "Northolt was one of the most careful people I knew. It couldn't have been a bear."

**"Lord Northolt?" Will asked. The name was vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't place it.**

**"Former supreme commander of the King's army," Halt told him, and Will nodded, as if he had known this. But, since Halt seemed to be answering his questions, he was emboldened to continue.**

**"What's so odd about it? After all, bears do kill people from time to time.""**

"Not in Cordom fief," Crowley said, "There aren't many bears there."

"**Halt nodded. "True. But I would have thought Cordom Fief was a little far west for bears. And I would have thought Northolt was too experienced a hunter to go after one alone." He shrugged, as if dismissing the thought. "But then again, life is full of surprises and people do make mistakes." He gestured toward the kitchen again, indicating that the conversation was over. "When you've put those away, you might like to clean out the fireplace," he said.**

**Will moved to do as he was told. But a few minutes later, as he walked past one of the windows to the large fireplace that took up most of one wall in the living room, he glanced out to see the Ranger tapping the report thoughtfully on his chin, his thoughts obviously a long way away."**

"_Very_ long way away," Halt corrected.


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters**.**

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><p>"So," Jenny started, "Who's next?"<p>

"I'll read," Horace said.

"Chapter eight," he began.

"**Sometime late in the afternoon, Halt finally ran out of jobs for Will. He looked around the cabin, noting the gleaming kitchen implements, the spotless fireplace, the thoroughly swept floor and totally dust-free rug. A stack of firewood lay beside the fireplace and another stack, cut and split into shorter lengths filled the wicker basket beside the kitchen stove."**

**"Hmmm. Not bad," he said. "Not bad at all.""**

"Not bad, the boy just did all your housework, you should be saying thank you," Duncan exclaimed.

"My rangers go through a tough experience, not the nonsense they teach at battleschool," Halt replied.

"You mean _my_ ranger's," Crowley corrected.

"**Will felt a surge of pleasure at the sparing praise, but before he could feel too pleased with himself, Halt added, "Can you cook, boy?""**

"There's always one more thing that needs to get done," Gilan said, shaking his head.

**"Cook, sir?" Will asked uncertainly.**

"Will I taught you a few skills you should be good at this," Jenny sighed.

**Halt raised his eyes to some unseen superior being.**

**"Why do young people invariably answer a question with another question?" he asked.**

"Well Halt, It seems like you answered that question with a question," Rodney laughed.

Crowley smiled and caught Rodney's eye.

"Why yes Halt, It does seem that you answered that second question with a question."

Now the whole room was smiling and Halt groaned in anticipation of what was to come.

"Now here's the thing Halt," Horace chuckled, "You seem to be telling yourself off for actions that you and young Will have both performed."

"Alright," Halt said finally cracking, "You got me but you should know that this will be the first and last time for such nonsense."

After a nanoseconds silence Duncan spoke up.

"Halt I am your king and I give the orders around here. Since I am in the comfortable presence of acquaintances and not with the whole kingdom I find myself saying something that I shall never repeat again. Let the nonsense continue!"

The whole room exploded with laughter and Halt was trying not to smile.

"**Then, receiving no reply, he continued, "Yes, cook. Prepare food so that one might eat it. Make meals. I assume you do know what food is-what meals are?""**

"Halt I should warn you that when this book is over you shall be subject to harsh punishment that makes up for all the horrible comments you make to Will," Pauline smiled.

"Oh Halt, gone are the days of being a free man," Horace sighed.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean," Cassandra said, deliberately misunderstanding.

Immediately Horace's face was clouded with nervousness.

"I only meant-"Horace started.

He stopped as he saw the whole room laughing at him. Meanwhile Halt was savouring the fact the Pauline might have just forgotten what she had said.

"**"Ye-es," Will answered, careful to take any questioning inflection out of the word.**

**"Well, as I told you this morning, this is no grand castle. If we want to eat food here, we have to cook food here," Halt told him.**

**There was that word we again, Will thought. Every time so far that Halt had said we must, it had seemed to translate to mean you must.**

**"I can't cook," Will admitted, and Halt clapped his hands and rubbed them together.**

**"Of course you can't! Most boys can't. So I'll have to show you how. Come on.""**

"You must have done a good job Halt, Will's one of the best cooks I know," Horace said.

"I think you're right Horace," Gilan replied," You make a great rabbit stew."

Some people in the room groaned and Will was shaking his head.

"What?" Gil asked.

"Me," Jenny finally stuttered, "You called Will the best cook and you just ignored the fact that I was right here."

Gilan looked panicked, he wasn't great with girls and Jenny was his favourite chef.

"You know what I mean Jen," Gil started to apologise, "You have a lot of things to cook with and Will doesn't. He does great for a person who doesn't have many items with him."

Luckily for Gilan, Jenny seemed to accept the apology. The room exhaled in relief and Baron Arald whispered very loudly "Nice save."

"**He led the way to the kitchen and introduced Will to the mysteries of cooking: peeling and chopping onions, choosing a piece of beef from the meat safe, trimming it and cutting it into neat cubes, then chopping vegetables, searing the beef in a sizzling pan, and finally adding a generous dash of red wine and some of what Halt called his "secret ingredients" The result was a savory-smelling stew, simmering on the top of the stove.**

**Now, as they waited for the dinner to be ready, they sat on the verandah in the early evening and talked quietly."**

All the non-rangers in the room sat up straight. They had never heard what a conversation between two rangers might be like. Will and Halt tried to go over what they had said to each other in this 'private' talk.

"**"The Rangers were founded over one hundred and fifty years ago, in King Herbert's reign. Do you know anything about him?" Halt looked sideways at the boy sitting beside him, tossing the question out quickly to see his response."**

"I wasn't lying you know," Will said to "I really did learn about that."

All the others were wondering what that meant. Halt however new that Will hadn't been lying and smiled at how Will remembered a conversation from so long ago.

"**Will hesitated. He vaguely remembered the name from history lessons in the Ward, but he couldn't remember any details. Still, he decided he'd try to bluff his way through it. He didn't want to look too ignorant on his first day with his new master."**

"No," Gilan cried, "Never try and bluff your way through it."

"I had to learn that the hard way," Will laughed.

Alyss waited patiently to hear what Will had remembered from the lesson.

"**"Oh… yes," he said, "King Herbert. We learned about him."**

**"Really?" said the Ranger expansively. "Perhaps you could tell me a little about him?" He leaned back and crossed his legs, getting himself comfortable. Will cast about desperately in his memory, trying to remember even a shred of detail about King Herbert. He'd done… something, but what?**

**"He was…" He hesitated, pretending to gather his thoughts. "The king." That much he was sure of, and he glanced at Halt to see if he could stop now. Halt merely smiled and made a rolling gesture with his hand that meant **_**go on.**_

**"He was the king… a hundred and fifty years ago," Will said, trying to sound certain of his facts. The Ranger smiled at him, gesturing for him to continue yet again.**

**"Ummm… well, I seem to recall that he was the one who founded the Ranger Corps," he said hopefully, and Halt raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.**

**"Really? You recall that, do you?" he said, and Will had a horrible moment where he realized that Halt had merely said the Rangers were founded during his reign, not necessarily by him."**

"Oh, what a mistake young Will," the Baron laughed, "I almost thought you had it."

"I too," Pauline smiled, "In fact I made that same mistake when I sat through an exam when I was taking lessons in the castle."

"**"Ahhh, well, when I say he founded the Rangers, I actually mean he was the king when the Ranger Corps was founded," he said.**

**"A hundred and fifty years ago?" Halt prompted. Will nodded emphatically. "That's right."**

**"Well, that's remarkable, seeing how I just told you those facts a minute or so ago," the Ranger said, his eyebrows coming down like thunderclouds over his eyes. Will thought it might be better if he had said nothing. Finally, the Ranger said, in a milder tone: "Boy, if you don't know something, don't try to bluff your way through it. Simply tell me `I don't know,' is that clear?"**

**"Yes, Halt," Will said, eyes downcast. There was a silence, then he said, "Halt?"**

**"Yes?"**

**"About King Herbert… I don't really know," Will admitted. The Ranger made a small snorting noise."**

The room snorted with laughter and Will thought about how young and foolish he sounded.

"**"Well, I never would have guessed," he said. "But I'm sure you'll remember when I tell you that he was the one who drove the northern clans back over the border into the Highlands?" And, of course, the moment he mentioned it, Will did remember. King Herbert was known as the "Father of Modern Araluen." He had banded the fifty fiefs together into a powerful union to defeat the northern clans. Will could see a way to regain a little credit in Halt's eyes now. If he mentioned the "Father of Modern Araluen" title, maybe the Ranger would…**

"Let me guess Will," Duncan smiled, "He mentioned it before you and you lost all credibility?"

"Right as usual sir," Will chuckled.

"**"He's sometimes known as the Father of Modern Araluen," Halt was saying, and Will realized he'd left it too late. "He created the union between the fifty fiefs that's still our structure today."**

**"I sort of remember that now," Will put in. He thought the addition of "sort of" helped it sound as if he wasn't just being wise after the event. Halt looked at him, one eyebrow raised, then continued.**

**"At the time, King Herbert felt that to remain safe, the kingdom needed an effective intelligence force."**

**"An intelligent force?" said Will. "Not intelligent.**_**Intelligence.**_** Although it does help if your intelligence force is also intelligent."**

"You know Halt, some people really don't appreciate your wit," Cassandra laughed.

"Tell it to the apprentices love," Halt smiled.

"Wait, I appreciate you making me do the housework," Will started.

"And all the threats if we didn't do it right," Gilan continued.

"What about the-".

"Enough," Alyss shouted.

Everyone fell silent. "Let's finish this chapter and then go off to bed," she finished.

Everyone in the room looked at each other and nodded towards Alyss. Alyss felt bad for what she had just said but she wasn't feeling well. In fact she hadn't been feeling well for a few weeks now. Pauline, with her motherly instincts smiled and thought about what Alyss must be going through.

"**Intelligence is knowledge of what your enemies, or your potential enemies, are up to. What they're planning. What they're thinking. If you know that sort of thing in advance, you can usually come up with a plan to stop them. That's why he founded the Rangers-to keep the kingdom informed. To act as the eyes and ears of the kingdom."**

**"How do you do that?" Will asked, his interest aroused now. Halt noted the change in tone and a momentary gleam of approval touched his eyes.**

**"We keep our eyes and ears open. We patrol the kingdom-and beyond. We listen. We observe. We report back." Will nodded to himself, thinking. Then he asked: "Is that the reason why you can make yourselves invisible?"**

**Again, the Ranger felt that moment of approval and satisfaction. But he made sure the boy didn't notice it."**

"I still don't understand how these are proper teaching methods," Rodney sighed.

"We all have our ways Rodney," the Baron replied.

"**"We can't make ourselves invisible," he said. "People just think we can. What we do is make ourselves very hard to see. It takes years of learning and practice to do it properly-but you already have some of the skills required."**

**Will looked up, surprised. "I do?""**

Crowley began worrying. Precious ranger secrets were being revealed.

"**"When you crossed the castle yard last night, you used the shadows and the movement of the wind to conceal yourself, didn't you?" Will nodded. "Yes. "He'd never met anyone before who actually understood his skill for moving without being seen. Halt continued. "We use the same principles: to blend into the background. To use it to conceal us. To become part of it."**

**"I see," said Will slowly.**

**"The trick is to make sure that nobody else does," Halt told him. For a moment, Will thought the Ranger had made a joke. But when he looked up, Halt was as grim-faced as ever.**

**"How many Rangers are there?" he asked. Halt and the Baron had referred more than once to the Ranger Corps, but Will had only ever seen one-and that was Halt.**

**"King Herbert established the Corps at fifty. One for each of the fifty fiefdoms. I'm based here. My colleagues are based at the other forty-nine castles throughout the kingdom.**

**"In addition to providing intelligence about potential enemies, Rangers are the law keepers," said Halt. "We patrol the fiefdom assigned to us and make sure that the laws are being obeyed."**

**"I thought Baron Arald did that," Will put in. Halt shook his head.**

**"The Baron is a judge," he said. "People bring their complaints to him so he can settle them. Rangers enforce the law. We take the law out to the people. If a crime has been committed, we look for evidence. We're particularly suited to that role since people often don't realize we're around. We investigate to see who's responsible."**

"Thank God for rangers," Jenny smiled looking up at Gilan.

Everyone murmured in agreement but no one seemed to notice Jenny and Gilan sharing a secret smile.

"**"What happens then?" Will asked. Halt gave a small shrug. "Sometimes we report back to the baron of the fief and he'll have the person arrested and charged. Sometimes, if it's a matter of urgency, we just… deal with it."**

**"What do we do?" Will asked before he could stop himself. Halt gave him a long, considering look.**

**"Not too much if we've only been an apprentice for a few hours," he replied. "Those of us who've been Rangers for twenty years or more tend to know what to do without asking."**

**"Oh," said Will, suitably chastened. Halt continued.**

**"Then, in times of war, we act as special troops-guiding the armies, scouting before them, going behind enemy lines to cause the enemy grief and so on." He glanced down at the boy. "It's a bit more exciting than working on a farm." Will nodded. Perhaps life as a Ranger's apprentice was going to have its appeal after all. "What sort of enemies?" he asked, After all, Castle Redmont had been at peace for as long as he could remember."**

"I wish it would stay that way," Arald sighed while Rodney snickered.

"Alas, I'm glad it hasn't," Alyss smiled, "Otherwise we wouldn't be allowed to have two rangers in the area."

"**"Enemies from within and without," Halt told him, "People like the Skandian sea raiders-or Morgarath and his Wargals."**

**Will shivered, recalling some of the more lurid stories about Morgarath, the Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night. Halt nodded somberly as he saw Will's reaction.**

**"Yes," he said, "Morgarath and his Wargals are definitely people to be worried about. That's why the Rangers keep an eye on them. We like to know if they're gathering, if they're getting ready for war."**

**"Still," said Will, as much to reassure himself as for any other reason, "the last time they attacked, the barons' armies made mincemeat out of them."**

**"That's true," Halt agreed. "But only because they'd been warned of the attack…" He paused and looked meaningfully at Will.**

**"By a Ranger?" the boy asked.**

**"Correct. It was a Ranger who brought word that Morgarath's Wargals were on their way… then led the cavalry across a secret ford so they could flank the enemy."**

**"It was a great victory," Will said.**

**"It certainly was. And all due to a Ranger's alertness and skill, and knowledge of back trails and secret paths.""**

'Especially due to one ranger's outstanding efforts during that war,' Duncan thought.

"**"My father died in that battle," Will added in a quieter voice, and Halt cast a curious look at him."**

Everybody felt sad as they were reminded of that battle. Some of the room's occupants did not know what happened at the battle. Alyss put her hand on Will's shoulder and the room was silent for a long time. Finally Horace began to read again.

"**"Is that so?" he said.**

**"He was a hero. A mighty knight," Will continued. The Ranger paused, almost as if he were deciding whether to say something or not. Then he simply replied:**

**"I wasn't aware of that.""**

"He was a soldier and a ruddy good one at that," Halt mumbled.

No one dared to ask where that comment had come from. Nobody in the room other than the Baron, Halt, Pauline, Alyss and Will knew the true story of Daniel the Hero.

"**Will was conscious of a sense of disappointment. For a moment, he'd had a feeling that Halt knew something about his father, that he could tell him the story of his heroic death. He shrugged to himself.**

**"That was why I was so keen to go to Battleschool," he said finally. "To follow in his footsteps.""**

"Battleschool wasn't meant for you Will," Duncan said.

"Yes, being a ranger suits you much better," Rodney agreed.

"**"You have other talents," Halt told him, and Will remembered the Baron saying much the same thing to him the previous night. "Halt…" he said. The Ranger nodded for him to continue. "I was sort of wondering… the Baron said you chose me?" Halt nodded again, saying nothing.**

**"And both of you say I have other qualities-qualities that make me suitable to be a Ranger's apprentice…"**

**"That's right," Halt said.**

**"Well… what are they?""**

"Every ranger asks that at some point," Crowley sighed.

"It's always difficult to answer them without giving them a big head," Halt laughed.

"**The Ranger leaned back, linking his hands behind his head.**

**"You're agile. That's good in a Ranger," he began. "And, as we've discussed, you can move quietly. That's very important. You're fast on your feet. And you're inquisitive…"**

**"Inquisitive? How do you mean?" asked Will. Halt looked at him sternly.**

**"Always asking questions. Always wanting to know answers," he explained. "That was why I had the Baron test you with that piece of paper.""**

The room laughed at that.

"Always one step ahead of the rest of us," Arald grinned, proud to say that Halt was from his fief.

"Actually two steps in front of _you_ sir," Gilan said, keeping a straight face.

While everyone continued to laugh at that the Baron tried to figure out what was so funny.

"**"But when did you first notice me? I mean, when did you first think of selecting me?" Will wanted to know.**

**"Oh," said Halt, "I suppose it was when I watched you steal those cakes from Master Chubb's kitchen.""**

"I'm stilled amazed at the fact that you saw me doing that," Will chortled.

"I'm surprised that you even made it to the kitchens Will," Duncan exclaimed while the room burst out laughing.

"You know Will, you could have brought me a sample," Jenny mocked.

"Jen you know as well as I do that I got caught," Will replied.

"And you got hit with the ladle," Halt joined in gleefully.

"How do I not know these things," Cassandra giggled, shaking her head.

"**Will's jaw dropped open with amazement.**

**"You watched me? But that was ages ago!" He had a sudden thought. "Where were you?"**

**"In the kitchen," said Halt. "You were too busy to notice me when you came in."**

**Will shook his head in wonder. He had been sure there was nobody in the kitchen. Then he remembered once again how Halt, wrapped in his cloak, could become virtually invisible. There was more to being a Ranger, he realized, than how to cook and clean."**

"You really thought little of us when you did all that work didn't you boy," Halt commented.

"With all due respect Halt, I had no idea how that training benefited me at the time," Will argued.

"I still don't," Arald spoke.

Everyone groaned at Arald's stupidity and Crowley took the chance to say, "Like we said before sir, always two steps behind."

After more laughing Arald tried to figure out what it meant and Cassandra couldn't resist saying "Don't hurt yourself trying to figure it out sir."

Everyone tried to stifle their laughs but eventually they stopped trying. Duncan looked at Cassandra as if to say 'you'll never stop being my cheeky, little girl.'

"**"I was impressed with your skill," said Halt. "But there was one thing that impressed me far more."**

**"What was that?" asked Will.**

**"Later, when Master Chubb questioned you, I saw you hesitate. You were going to deny having stolen the cakes. Then I saw you admit it. Remember? He hit you on the head with his wooden spoon." Will grinned and rubbed his head thoughtfully. He could still hear the CRACK! made by the spoon hitting his head.**

**"I wondered if I shouldn't have lied," he admitted. Halt shook his head very slowly."**

A round of 'should and shouldn'ts' went around the room and the younger people of the room realised that the older people were letting themselves be informal and more at ease with them.

"**"Oh, no, Will. If you'd lied, you never would have become my apprentice." He stood up and stretched, turning to go indoors to the stew simmering on the stove.**

**"Now let's eat," he said."**

"That's the end of the chapter," Horace announced.

* * *

><p>So what did you think? Sorry for the long wait. I know many of you don't want to hear this but school comes first and I had to complete all of my schoolwork and studying before I posted this. Feel free to review and post your thoughts for this chapter or ideas you may have for future chapters.<p>

Some of you might have noticed that a lot of Harry Potter 'Reading the books' FanFictions are being deleted. Does anyone know if this is just for Harry Potter or will they eventually be moving onto other 'reading the books' FanFictions like this one?

One more thing, I have started writing a new story. It's for people who like Harry Potter. It's about all the people who have died across the series of Harry Potter. I can't really describe it but if you're a Harry Potter fan then you should check it out.

Tia97


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

* * *

><p>King Duncan surveyed the room. After having a good look at all its occupants he decided that it was time for a rest. They always had tomorrow to read on. Besides, there were too many tired eyes and loud yawns from a long time travelling to even consider another chapter.<p>

"Alright you lot, off to bed," Duncan commanded.

With murmurs of 'Goodnight' and 'see you in the morning' every one left to their allotted chambers for their stay in the royal castle. When morning came they all greeted each other and sat down for a hearty breakfast in the King's private banquet hall. Retiring to the spacious quarters they occupied the day before, Will found the leather bound book and began reading.

"**Horace dropped his pack on the floor of the dormitory and fell across his bed, groaning with relief."**

"Wait," Horace's face was a mask of confusion, "It's about me?"

Halt pretended to examine Horace closely.

"Well, unless there is another person named Horace in Will's life I'm guessing, yes," he said.

Horace turned to Will.

"Am I the only Horace in your life?" he asked.

Will chuckled, "You're the one and only."

"**Every muscle in his body ached. He had no idea that he could feel so sore, so worn-out. He had no idea that there were so many muscles in the human body that could feel this way. Not for the first time, he wondered if he was going to get through the three years of Battleschool training. He'd been a cadet for less than a week and already he was a total physical wreck."**

"That's just the beginning, you get used to it afterwards," Rodney said.

Duncan mused over his time in battle school. Looking back on it he realised how good he had it. No dealing with royal reports or fancy footwear. It was just train, eat and occasionally dress up for a royal occasion.

Horace on the other hand was reminiscing about the bad times. Hours upon hours of training that left his muscles sore, reports that made him spend time in the library late at night and worst of all, having to deal with all the aggressive tyrants that got in his way. He was grateful for his life now.

"**When he'd applied for Battleschool, Horace had a vague notion of glittering, armor-clad knights doing battle, while lesser folk stood by and watched in awed admiration. Quite a few of those lesser folk, in his mental picture, had been attractive girls"**

Arald, Rodney and Duncan all roared with laughter. It was not a first for them to hear this from an aspiring knight. They all thought it was no work and all play. But in the end being a knight came down to how loyal you were and how determined you were. Although having a strong build helped too.

"**-Jenny, his yearmate in the Ward, had been prominent among them."**

Jenny blushed. Even though they were all adults who had come so far in life it was still embarrassing being reminded of your childhood crush. Catching Horace's eye the two of them burst out laughing. The laughter was infections and soon everyone was laughing (except for Halt who had a wry smile).

Gilan grinned. "Did anything happen?" he asked eagerly.

Cassandra smirked. "I answer that question, don't you think?"

"He doesn't think," Halt chimed in, "That's why he had to ask."

The remainder of the room doubled over in laughter. It wasn't that a teenage crush was overly exciting. It was seeing how far everyone had come that was so amusing.

"**To him, Battleschool had been a place of glamour and adventure, and Battleschool cadets were people that others looked up to and envied."**

Rodney shook his head, "Not always cadet."

"But pretty darn close," Crowley joked, "You knights always seem to have a lady or two hanging off your arm."

"Jealous Crowley?" Arald asked

Crowley smiled, "Of you sir, definitely not."

Duncan sniggered, "Baron, no one is jealous of you with a wife like that."

While everyone chuckled Arald let out a boom of laughter that could have shaken the entire castle.

"**The reality was something else. So far, Battleschool cadets were people who rose before the dawn and spent the hour before breakfast doing a severe course of physical training: running, lifting weights, standing in lines of ten or more to lift and hold heavy logs over their heads. Exhausted by all of this, they were then returned to their quarters, where they had the opportunity to take a brief shower-the water was cold-before making sure the dormitory and ablutions block were absolutely spotless.**

**Quarters inspection came after that and it was painstaking. Sir Karel, the wiry old knight who carried out the inspection, knew every trick in the book when it came to taking shortcuts in cleaning the dormitory, making your bed and stowing your kit." **

Rodney and Arald smiled in memory. Karel was not a man to be messed with. True he could be overbearing at times but he was one of the best.

"**The slightest infringement on the part of one of the twenty boys in the dormitory would mean all their kit would be scattered across the floor, their beds turned over, the rubbish bins emptied on the floor, and they would have to turn to and start again-in the time when they should have been having breakfast."**

Cassandra had grown up hearing of the battleschool. When she was younger she had wanted to learn how to fight but all she had been told was that she might one day marry a man from there. She had never heard of this rough and tumble lifestyle of the battleschool. This was all new to her. Taking her husband's hand she silently prayed that Horace would be okay.

**As a consequence, new cadets only tried once to pull the wool over Sir Karel's eyes. Breakfast was nothing special. In fact, in Horace's opinion, it was downright basic. But if you missed it, it was a long, hard morning until the lunch hour, which, in keeping with the spartan life in Battleschool, was only twenty minutes long."**

"Oh now I'm hungry," Arald said in all seriousness.

While everyone sniggered Rodney took it upon himself to say, "Sir you just had breakfast."

"I know, but know the thought of food is stuck in my head," Arald replied.

"No matter," Duncan interjected, "I can have some coffee brought up."

So, some twenty minutes later, everyone found themselves holding a warm cup of coffee with a pot of honey laid on a silver tray. Everyone stared as Halt, Gilan and Will all reached for it at the same time.

Crowley shook his head, "Always passing on your bad habits Halt."

"**After breakfast, there were classes for two hours in military history, the theory of tactics and so on, then the cadets were usually required to run the obstacle course-a series of obstacles designed to test speed, agility, balance and strength. There was a minimum time standard for the course. It had to be completed in under five minutes, and any cadet who failed to do so was immediately sent back to the start to try again. It was rare that anyone completed the course without falling at least once, and the course was littered with mud pools, water hazards and pits filled with nameless but unpleasant matter whose origin Horace didn't want to even think about."**

Everyone made a face at that. Except for Rodney who knew it was only left over slop of food from the Battleschool kitchens.

"**Lunch followed the obstacle course, but if you'd fallen during the run, you had to clean up before entering the mess hall-another of those famous cold showers-and that usually took half the time set aside for the meal break. As a consequence, Horace's over-whelming impressions of the first week of Battleschool were a combination of aching muscles and gnawing hunger.**

**There were more classes after lunch, then physical jerks in the castle yard under the eye of one of the senior-year cadets. Then the class would form up and perform close-order drill until the end of the school day, when they would have two hours to themselves, to clean and repair gear and prepare lessons for the following day's classes.**

**Unless, of course, someone had transgressed during the course of the day, or in some way caused displeasure to one of their instructors or observers. In which case, they would all be invited to load their packs with rocks and set out on a twelve-kilometre run along a course mapped out through the surrounding countryside."**

Alyss and Jenny shuddered at the thought. They had never had to run that hard in their lives. Cassandra on the other hand had been used to it after her series of explorations and escapades. But she was still surprised by the harshness of Battleschool.

"**Invariably, the course was nowhere near any of the level roads or tracks in the area. It meant running through broken, uneven ground, up hills and across streams, through heavily overgrown thickets where hanging vines and thick underbrush would claw at you and try to pull you down.**

**Horace had just completed one such run. "**

"How did you survive," Jenny asked in horror

Horace grimaced, he had survived the runs easily, it was the other cadets that he felt sorry for. They had tripped and slipped, stumbled and tumbled and some may have chipped a few teeth. It was gruelling.

"I just powered through it," was all Horace could say.

Not for the first time Will thanked the gods that he didn't have to go through Battleschool. Gilan on the other hand thought about his life had he not become a ranger. He didn't regret it.

"**Earlier in the day, one of his classmates had been spotted in Tactics I, passing a note to a friend. Unfortunately, the note was not in the form of text but was an unflattering caricature of the long-nosed instructor who taught the class. Equally unfortunately, the boy possessed considerable skill as a cartoonist and the drawing was instantly recognizable."**

Everyone let out a chuckle, Lady Pauline more than everyone else as she knew this sort of thing happened more in the scribeschool than battleschool. Halt loved the way his wife laughed. He just couldn't stop staring. It was one of those rare moments when he lost concentration. Will's voice brought him back to the present.

"**As a result, Horace and his class had been invited to fill those packs and start running.**

**He'd gradually felt himself pulling away from the rest of the boys as they labored up the first hill. Even after a few days, the strict regime of the Battleschool was beginning to show results with Horace. He was fitter than he'd ever been in his life. Added to that was the fact that he had natural ability as an athlete."**

"Well someone certainly has a large opinion of themselves," Gilan remarked.

"It's well deserved though," Rodney said.

"_Very_ well deserved," Duncan agreed.

Horace turned to Cassandra, expecting her to say something.

"If you expect me to say something about your_ brilliant _skill or your _natural ability_ you can forget it. You've already got an unnaturally large head," Cassandra said as she stared her husband down.

The entire room let out chuckles of amusement while Horace smiled at his wife's antics.

"She's right Horace," Will laughed.

"**Though he was un-aware of it,"**

"See, I was unaware of my own skill, I'm not that big headed," Horace stammered.

An annoyed Will couldn't contain his irritation at being interrupted so quickly, "Maybe you should let me finish," he said, frustrated, "It could say that you weren't aware you were so big headed."

"Or that you're so unaware of your own ignorance," Gilan stated, keeping a straight face.

"Or large size."

"Or large appetite."

"Your lopsided ears."

"Your tendency to bumble through situations."

"Your inability to propose properly," Cassandra finished off, making the whole room burst into laughter.

Horace was red in the face.

"Do any of you actually know what it says?" he questioned, pointedly glaring at Will.

"Good question," Will replied, "Maybe if you stopped interrupting we could find out."

"**he ran with balance and grace, where the others seemed to struggle."**

"HA!" was the noise that came from Horace.

Will had the decency to look slightly sheepish.

"Well," Will tried to defend himself, "Maybe if you hadn't interrupted we could have found that out a little earlier."

"And besides," Halt chimed in, "It doesn't mean that you aren't all those other things.

"Yeah, you're still an ignorant, hungry, awkward guy but now you're aware of it," Crowley said while everyone else sniggered.

Horace stared at the ranger, "Thank you for that," he replied sarcastically.

Crowley kept a straight face, "Anytime," was all he said.

"**As the run progressed, he found himself far in front of the others. He pounded on, head up and breathing evenly through his nostrils."**

Rodney had a look of pride on his face. He was very proud of his young protégée. He had come very far in life. Rodney remembered the young boy who came into Battleschool. He showed talent but was unsure as to what his future might hold. Now Horace was a fully-fledged knight with his own royal title, many self-earned achievements to show for it and he had become part of the royal family. Very proud indeed, Rodney thought as he listened to how Horace outshone the rest of the cadets.

"**So far, he hadn't had much chance to get to know his new classmates, He'd seen most of them around the castle or the village over the years, of course, but growing up in the Ward had tended to isolate him from the normal, day-to-day life of the castle and village. Ward children couldn't help but feel different from the others. And it was a feeling that the boys and girls with parents still living reciprocated."**

The room became uncomfortable for a moment. There were those like Lady Pauline, Sir Rodney, Baron Arald, King Duncan, Halt, Crowley, Gilan and Cassandra who had never experienced this sort of isolation.

Cassandra had felt isolated from other normal children but there were always the other children of lords and ladies that she associated with. Gilan and Crowley had that sense of isolation from the general public when they joined the ranger corps but that was only to be expected from joining such an exclusive group. Halt had felt isolation to some degree when he had run from his old home. He had however, preferred the secluded lifestyle ever since that day.

Will, Horace, Alyss and Jenny all looked down. It wasn't a terribly painful memory, just an uncomfortable one to relive. But looking on from those days they all realised that all they needed was each other.

"**The Choosing ceremony was peculiar to Ward members only. Horace was one of twenty new Battleschool recruits that year, the other nineteen coming through what was considered the normal process-parental influence, patronage or recommendation from their teachers." **

Duncan shook his head. Enrolment into Battleschool shouldn't be bought with parental influence. It was wrong. Arald had the same line of thought and nobody else really paid attention to that part. Rodney didn't care how they got in. It only mattered whether they were good, honest men who were willing to work hard and to remain loyal to the crown.

" **a result, he was regarded as something of a curiosity, and the other boys had so far made no overtures of friendship or even much attempt to get to know him. Still, he thought, smiling with grim satisfaction, he had beaten them all in the run. None of the others were back yet. He'd shown them, all right."**

"So I was right," Gilan smiled, "You were unaware of your own big headedness."

Horace didn't look embarrassed. He was proud of himself that he was able to get through that course. However, his retaliation wasn't very well thought of.

"Hey, I think I did pretty well," He reacted, "Besides Battleschool was hard and you're a ranger, you didn't go through Battleschool."

Most of the room's occupants inwardly groaned at what Horace said. Gilan merely smiled. Horace had forgotten that Gilan was the son of Sir David, the most experienced and skilled Battle master in Araluen, and the former student of Macnair, a brilliant swordsman himself. Naturally, Gilan had grown up with the rough and tumble Battleschool life, as evidenced by his sword, but Horace was the only one who couldn't seem to remember that. The room stayed quiet. Will didn't trust himself to read without laughing and nobody could keep their poker faces.

Horace glanced around the room, wondering why he wasn't in on this private joke.

"**The door at the end of the dormitory crashed back on its hinges and heavy boots sounded on the bare floorboards. Horace raised himself on one elbow and groaned inwardly."**

The real Horace groaned as well. It was embarrassing having to relive these memories. The others minus Halt, Rodney and Will, who had figured out what was going on, stared at Horace curiously.

"**Bryn, Alda and Jerome were marching toward him between the neat rows of perfectly made beds. They were second-year cadets and they seemed to have decided that their life's work was to make Horace's life miserable. Quickly, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, but not quickly enough."**

"That's barbaric," Duncan said in a state of shock, "Rodney I hope you sorted them out?"

Rodney nodded but it was Halt who said, "Actually my Lord, it was your son-in-law who sorted them out."

Duncan looked at Halt curiously. He shrugged, knowing that if it was important he would find out about it later.

Cassandra on the other hand didn't know how to take it. It was something from Horace's childhood and he never really mentioned anything from his childhood before he and Will had become friends.

"**"What are you doing lying in bed?" Alda yelled at him. "Who told you it was lights out?" Bryn and Jerome grinned. They enjoyed Alda's verbal sallies. They weren't anywhere near as original. But they made up for their lack of verbal invention with a heavy reliance on the physical side of things."**

"You thought that was original?" Cassandra spat out disgustedly.

"Rodney, I didn't know that the bullying problems got to be this bad," Duncan murmured.

Arald found the need to step in, "My Lord, they normally aren't but this was a special case."

"Beside," Halt interjected, "They got what they deserved."

This didn't exactly reassure Duncan as he knew that Halt didn't oversee most Battleschool bullies like Rodney did nor did he have the best punishment methods.

"**"Twenty push-ups!" Bryn ordered. "Now!"**

**Horace hesitated a moment. He was actually bigger than any of them. If it came to a confrontation, he was sure he could beat any one of them. But they were three. And besides, they had the authority of tradition behind them. As far as he knew, it was normal practice for second-year to treat first-year cadets like this, and he could imagine the scorn of his classmates if he were to complain to authority about it. Nobody likes a crybaby, he told himself as he began to drop to the ground. But Bryn had seen the hesitation and perhaps even the fleeting light of rebellion in his eyes.**

**"Thirty push-ups!" he snapped. "Do it now!""**

Seeming to forget that Horace was going to be okay, Cassandra grabbed his arm and squeezed it tightly. She hated bullies and she especially hated the ones that got away with it. Lady Pauline was the only _very_ shocked person. All of the people in the room felt like family to her. She hated seeing them tortured in this way.

"**His muscles protesting, Horace dropped full length to the floor and began the push-ups. Immediately, he felt a foot in the small of his back, bearing down on him as he tried to raise himself from the floor.**

**"Come on, Baby!" It was Jerome now. "Put a bit of effort into it!" Horace struggled through a push-up. Jerome had developed the skill of maintaining just the right amount of pressure. Any more and Horace would never have been able to complete the push-up. But the second-year cadet also kept pressing down as Horace started back down again. That made the exercise all the harder. He had to maintain the same amount of upward pressure as he lowered himself, otherwise he would be driven hard against the floor. Groaning, he completed the first, then started another."**

Everyone besides Duncan and Cassandra knew of the torture that Horace went through. But only Rodney, Halt and Will knew the full extent of it.

**"Stop crying, Baby!" Alda yelled at him. Then he moved to Horace's bed.**

**"Didn't you make this bed this morning?" he yelled. Horace, struggling up again against the pressure of Jerome's foot, could only grunt in reply."**

"You shouldn't have to answer to these idiots in the first place!" Cassandra exclaimed.

Duncan and Horace both knew that they had to defuse the situation quickly.

Horace placed a hand on his wife's arm while Duncan tried to sooth her.

"Cassie," he started, "It's in the past, besides we're all adults here. These are childhood bullies."

Cassandra seemed to calm down but she hated thinking about what Horace had gone through even though it had been around ten years ago.

**"What? What?" Alda bent so that his face was only centimeters away. "What's that, Baby? Speak up!"**

**"Yes… sir," Horace managed to whisper. Alda shook his head in an exaggerated movement.**

**"No sir, I think!" he said, standing upright again. "Look at this bed. It's a pigsty!" Naturally, the covers were a little rumpled where Horace had dropped across the bed. But it would have taken only a second or two to straighten them. Grinning, Bryn cottoned on to Alda's plan. He stepped forward and kicked the bed over on its side, spilling mattress, blankets and pillows across the floor. Alda joined in, kicking the blankets across the floor.**

**"Make the bed again!" he yelled. Then a light gleamed in his eye and he turned to the next bed in line, kicking it over as well, scattering the bedclothes and mattresses as he'd done to Horace's.**

**"Make them all again!" he yelled, delighted with his idea. Bryn joined him, grinning widely, as they tumbled the twenty beds, scattering blankets, pillows and mattresses around the room. Horace, struggling still through the thirty push-ups, gritted his teeth. Perspiration ran into his eyes, stinging them and blurring his vision."**

"Horace, why didn't you come to one of the instructors about this," Rodney asked.

Horace shrugged, "I just didn't want to seem weak."

The elder men of the room seem to shake their heads in amusement. It was so like young boys to act as if they didn't need anyone's help.

"**"Crying, are you, Baby?" he heard Jerome yell. "Go home and cry to Mummy then!"**

**His foot shoved viciously into Horace's back, sending him sprawling on the floor.**

**"Baby doesn't have a mummy," Alda said. "Baby's a Ward brat. Mummy ran off with a riverboat sailor."**

**Jerome bent down to him again. "Is that right, Baby?" he hissed. "Did Mummy run away and leave you?"**

**"My mother is dead," Horace grated at them. Angrily, he began to rise, but Jerome's foot was on the back of his neck, thrusting his face against the hard boards. Horace gave up the attempt.**

**"Very sad," Alda said, and the other two laughed. "Now clean this mess up, Baby, or we'll have you run the course again"**

**Horace lay, exhausted, as the three older boys swaggered out of the room, tipping footlockers over as they went, spilling his roommates' belongings onto the floor. He closed his eyes as salt perspiration stung its way into them again.**

**"I hate this place," he said, his voice muffled by the rough planks of the floor."**

While some were on the verge of tears, others were staring stonily ahead. Horace could not say anything at all.

"Who's going next?" Will asked, his voice a little hoarse.


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

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><p>"I'll read," Baron Arald murmured, holding his hand out for the book.<p>

Will passed it to him and took time to look at everyone's expression. There was a sombre mood in the room from the last chapter. He didn't think anyone would be talking for a while. He was wrong.

"**"Time you learned about the weapons you'll be using," said Halt."**

"Finally," Horace exclaimed, "We get to hear about ranger stuff."

The rangers of the room looked at him curiously.

"What?" Horace said defensively.

"We know all about royalty," gesturing to Duncan, Cassandra and Baron Arald, "We know all about knights," gesturing to himself and Sir Rodney, "We know about the work of couriers," pointing to Pauline and Alyss, "…and we know a thing or two about cooking," Horace finished off, nodding in Jenny's direction, "But we barely know a thing about rangers."

"He has a point," Alyss chuckled.

"Even with all the time you've spent with us?" Gilan asked

"Even then," Jenny replied.

Rodeny, Pauline, Duncan and Arald had all been curious about what rangers did but had all given up trying to find out. Yet they all listened very closely to the conversation trying to find out. Cassandra, Horace, Alyss and Jenny were the ones who were pestering the rangers with questions while Will, Halt, Crowley and Gilan looked at each other with amused expressions.

"**They had eaten breakfast well before sunup and Will had followed Halt into the forest. They'd walked for about half an hour, with the Ranger showing Will how to glide from one patch of shade to the next, as silently as possible. Will was a good student in the art of unseen movement, as Halt had already remarked, but he had a lot to learn before he reached Ranger standard. Still, Halt was pleased with his progress. The boy was keen to learn-particularly when it was a matter of field craft like this."**

"So you were proud of me," Will said as he smiled smugly.

"You weren't up to standard though," Halt quipped.

"But you were still proud of me."

Crowley laughed, "You won't get anywhere with him young Will."

"**It was a slightly different matter when it came to the less exciting tasks like map reading and chart drawing. Will tended to skip over details that he saw as unimportant until Halt pointed out to him, with some acerbity, "You'd find these skills would become a little more important if you were planning a route for a company of heavy cavalry and forgot to mention that there's a stream in the way.""**

Duncan groaned as he remembered an incident just like that while Arald was choking with laughter. The others stared at them curiously.

Arald grinned, enjoying the attention.

"It was quite a while ago," he started, "We planned to go on a hunting trip in another fief while visiting."

Duncan decided to take over the rest of the story while Arald tried to overcome his laughter.

"There was a wild boar," Duncan recalled, "We asked the ranger there to scout it out for us after we heard the reports. We made plans, we prepared and then a day later we set out with the directions that particular ranger had given us. The only thing was that we came across a large gorge and we couldn't figure out how to get around it."

Duncan couldn't bring himself to finish the story and everyone else was getting curious while Halt and Crowley remembered that _particular _ranger.

Arald continued the rest of the story.

"So we can't pass the gorge and the local knights hadn't been to this part of the woods before. We decided to turn right and we were looking for a bridge. We got tired and after a few hours we turned left going back to the starting point. We keep going a further left for about ten minutes when we come across a huge stone bridge that could get us across. The ranger had forgotten to tell us about this and by the time we find it it's almost nightfall and we have to turn back."

The others burst into laughter thinking about the King and a bunch of nights stumbling around the woods looking confused.

"Who was the ranger?" Will asked.

Halt and Crowley exchanged looks before Crowley said, "Meralon. We moved him to Norgate after the incident but I guess that was a mistake."

"Definitely," Horace and Will agreed in unison as they remembered the uptight ranger from the siege of Macindaw castle.

"**Now, they stopped in a clearing and Halt dropped a small bundle that had been concealed beneath his cloak.**

**Will regarded the bundle doubtfully. When he thought of weapons, he thought of swords and battle-axes and war maces-the weapons carried by knights. It was obvious that this small bundle contained none of those.**

**"What sort of weapons? Do we have swords?" Will asked, his eyes glued to the bundle.**

"You still wanted to be a knight after all that time?" Gilan asked, confused by the boy's eagerness to join Battleschool.

"I was only beginning to appreciate being a ranger. I hadn't stopped thinking about Battleschool though," Will thought aloud, "But now I wouldn't change a thing."

"**"A Ranger's principal weapons are stealth and silence and his ability to avoid being seen," said Halt. "But if they fail, then you may have to fight.""**

**"So then we have a sword?" Will said hopefully. Halt knelt and unwrapped the bundle.**

**"No. Then we have a bow," he said and placed it at Will's feet."**

"I will admit, that was disappointing," Will admitted.

"I've always wanted to learn how to use a bow and arrow," Jenny thought.

Gilan smiled, happy to be given an opportunity to wrap his arms around Jenny for 'teaching' purposes.

"I can teach you if you like."

Alyss hid a small smile as she saw the exchange between the two.

"**Will's first reaction was one of disappointment. A bow was something people used for hunting, he thought. Everyone had bows. A bow was more a tool than a weapon. As a child, he had made his fair share of them himself, bending a springy tree branch into shape."**

Crowley let out a whistle.

"That's impressive."

"It was nothing, just a bent branch," Will said modestly.

"Still," Crowley replied, "It's impressive for a person that young."

"**Then, as Halt said nothing, he looked more closely at the bow. This, he realized, was no bent branch.**

**It was unlike any bow that Will had seen before. Most of the bow followed one long curve like a normal longbow, but then each tip curved back in the opposite direction. Will, like most of the people of the kingdom, was used to the standard longbow-which was one long piece of wood bent into a continuous curve. This one was a good deal shorter."**

"A short bow for a short ranger," Arald joked gleefully. He was confused when no one laughed.

"Your wit astounds me sir," Halt teased.

"**"It's called a recurve bow," said Halt, sensing his puzzlement. "You're not strong enough to handle a full longbow yet, so the double curve will give you extra arrow speed and power, with a lower draw weight. I learned how to make one from the Temujai."**

**"Who are the Temujai?" asked Will, looking up from the strange bow."**

Most of the room shuddered from their bad memories with the Temujai. It wasn't an experience that they wanted to relive.

"**"Fierce fighting men from the east," said Halt. "And probably the world's finest archers."**

**"You fought against them?"**

**"Against them… and with them for a time," said Halt. "Stop asking so many questions." Will glanced down at the bow in his hand again. Now that he was becoming used to its unusual shape, he could see that it was a beautifully made weapon. Several shaped strips of wood had been glued together, with their grains running in different directions. They were of differing thicknesses and it was this that achieved the double curve of the bow, as the different forces strained against each other, bending the limbs of the bow into a carefully planned pattern. Maybe, he thought, this really was a weapon, after all."**

"You don't say," Halt said sarcastically. In actual fact he was proud that Will was able to notice the craftsmanship of the bow and fully appreciate it.

"**"Can I shoot it?" he asked.**

**Halt nodded. "If you feel that's a good idea, go ahead," he said."**

Gilan and Crowley snickered.

"What?" Jenny asked.

"If Halt says it's a good idea, never do it," Gilan choked out.

"What happened?" Alyss questioned Will while everyone else gave a Halt a quizzical look.

"You'll find out," Will spoke softly not trusting himself not to hide his face in embarrassment.

"**Quickly, Will chose an arrow from the quiver that had been in the bundle alongside the bow and fitted it to the string. He pulled the arrow back with his thumb and forefinger, aimed at a tree trunk some twenty meters away and fired.**

**Whack!**

**The heavy bowstring slapped into the soft flesh on the inside of his arm, stinging like a whip. Will yelled with pain and dropped the bow as if it were red-hot.**

**Already, a thick red welt was forming on his arm. It throbbed painfully. Will had no idea where the arrow had gone. Nor did he care."**

"Halt!" Lady Pauline exclaimed, "How could you?"

"My dear, there are just some things that a man of my standing has to do to get into the head of a mostly ignorant fifteen year old boy."

"But-"

Halt cut her off, "You have your teaching methods and I have mine."

"**"That hurt!" he said, looking accusingly at the Ranger. Halt shrugged."**

Crowley couldn't stop laughing. It was the same mistake he had made as a boy. Everyone else was laughing at Will and how Halt had responded. Horace especially as he looked at his old friend.

"**"You're always in a hurry, youngster," he said. "That may teach you to wait a little next time." He bent to the bundle and pulled out a long cuff made of stiff leather. He slid it onto Will's left arm so that it would protect him from the bowstring. Ruefully, Will noticed that Halt was wearing a similar cuff. Even more ruefully, he realized that he'd noticed this before, but never wondered about the reason for it."**

'Youngsters,' Duncan thought as he looked fondly at Cassandra, 'always thinking they knew what was best.'

"**"Now try it again," said Halt.**

**Will chose another arrow and placed it on the string. As he went to draw it back again, Halt stopped him.**

**"Not with the thumb and finger," he said. "Let the arrow rest between the first and second fingers on the string… like this." He showed Will how the nock-the notch at the butt end of the arrow-actually clipped to the string and held the arrow in place. Then he demonstrated how to let the string rest on the first joint of the first, second and third fingers, with the first finger above the nock point and the others below it. Finally, he showed him how to allow the string to slip loose so that the arrow was released.**

**"That's better," he said and, as Will brought the arrow back, continued, "Try to use your back muscles, not just your arms. Feel as if you're pushing your shoulder blades together…" Will tried it and the bow seemed to draw a little easier. He found he could hold it steadier than before.**

**He fired again. This time, he just missed the tree trunk he'd been aiming for.**

**"You need to practice," said Halt. "Put it down for now" Carefully, Will laid the bow down on the ground. He was eager now to see what Halt would produce next from the bundle.**

**"These are a Ranger's knives," said Halt. He handed Will a double scabbard, like the one he wore on the left-hand side of his own belt.**

**Will took the double scabbard and examined it. The knives were set one above the other. The top knife was the shorter of the two. It had a thick, heavy grip made of a series of leather discs set one above the other. There was a brass crosspiece between the hilt and the blade and it had a matching brass pommel.**

**"Take it out," said Halt. "Do it carefully." Will slid the short knife from the scabbard. It was an unusual shape. Narrow at the hilt, it tapered out sharply, becoming thicker and wider for three quarters of its length to form a broad blade with the weight concentrated toward the tip, then a steep reverse taper created a razor-sharp point. He looked curiously at Halt.**

**"It's for throwing," said the Ranger. "The extra width at the tip balances the weight of the hilt. And the combined weight of the two helps drive the knife home when you throw it. Watch." His hand moved smoothly and swiftly to the broad-bladed knife at his own waist. He flicked it free from the scabbard and, in one smooth action, sent it spinning toward a nearby tree.**

**The knife thudded home into the wood with a satisfying thock!**

**Will looked at Halt, impressed with the Ranger's skill and speed. "How do you learn to do that?" he asked."**

"Practice," Crowley, Gilan and Will replied in unison.

**Halt looked at him. "Practice""**

Everyone sniggered. It was not often they found Halt to be so predictable.

"**He gestured for Will to inspect the second knife.**

**This one was longer. The handle was the same leather disc construction, and there was a short, sturdy crosspiece. The blade was heavy and straight, razor-sharp on one side, thick and heavy on the other.**

**"This is in case your enemy gets to close quarters," said Halt. "Although if you're any sort of an archer, he never will. It's balanced for throwing, but you can also block a sword stroke with that blade. It's made by the finest steelsmiths in the kingdom. Look after it and keep it sharp."**

**"I will," the apprentice said softly, admiring the knife in his hands. "It's similar to what the Skandians call a saxe knife," Halt told him. Will frowned at the unfamiliar name and Halt went on to explain further.**

**"It's both weapon and tool-a sea ax, originally. But over the years the words sort of slid together to become saxe. Mind you," he added, "the quality of the steel in ours is a long way superior to the Skandian ones." Will studied the knife more closely, seeing the faint blue tint in the blade, feeling the perfect balance. With its leather and brass hilt, the knife might be plain and functional in appearance. But it was a fine weapon and, Will realized, far superior to the comparatively clumsy swords worn by castle Redmont's warriors."**

"I resent that," Rodney cried out, "WE have brilliant swords."

Arald and Horace nodded in agreement.

"Now gentlemen, I'm sure we don't need to have an argument over which is the superior weapon, do we?" Duncan asked, trying to defuse the tension.

"Yes as we are the ones with the superior weapon," Halt teased.

Rodney, Arald and Horace didn't see the underlying humour in Halt's words and both were on the edge of yelling when Duncan cried, "Enough, all of you, that's an order."

Rodney, Horace and Arald lay back in their seats with sheepish grins. Halt smirked knowing they were still fuming on the inside.

Arald continued reading and Duncan said a silent prayer of thanks for being able to defuse the situation quickly. It was always tiresome to deal with people who thought they had the better weapon, it always lead to a violent dispute.

**Halt showed him how to strap the double scabbard to his belt so that his hand fell naturally to the knife hilts. "Now," he said, "all you have to do is learn to use them. And you know what that means, don't you?" **

"Practise," everyone chorused.

**Will nodded his head, grinning. "A lot of practice," he said.**

* * *

><p><em>I have a confession to make and I should just come out and say it. I will not be completing the whole series. I will complete this book but not the whole series. In an earlier chapter I made the promise that I would complete the whole series. But then the twelfth book was released and I couldn't bring myself to think about doing The Burning Bridge. I like writing and reading a 'reading the books' fan-fiction after a series has been completed or after the events of the book have passed. This fan-fiction is before The Royal Ranger (book twelve) so I can't see where this fan-fiction will lead. John Flanagan has already written a future for his characters and I do not want to fiddle with it too much. Those of you who have read The Royal Ranger will understand. (I live in Australia, I was able to read it in September. I liked it but sometimes I miss the old days like the Gatherings or learning something at the same time as Will. Brilliant book nonetheless.)<em>

_I also feel like I owe an explanation to those of you who have been following this story from the beginning. I took a long time uploading chapter ten. (Just over a year, but who's counting). Last year I had updated chapter nine and I had completed a few other chapters as well. My laptop crashed and I lost all that work and I didn't feel like I had it in me to write them again. I had spent long time on them. I took a break from fan-fiction. I didn't some onto the site for a long time. Not even to read other stories. I wrote stories both original and fan-fiction, I just didn't upload them. Finally I read a review one day that gave me the push I needed to continue writing for this story. I'm sorry about the long wait._

_Hope you all enjoyed the chapter._

_Tia97_


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

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><p>Arald finished reading and handed the book to Rodney as he was the only one who hadn't read yet. Rodney opened up the book to the next chapter and began.<p>

"**Sir Rodney leaned on the timber fence surrounding the practice area as he watched the new Battleschool cadets going through their weapons drill."**

"Why is it about me?" asked Rodney, "It's weird reading about myself."

"You're telling me," Will agreed.

"**He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes scanning the twenty new recruits, but always returning to one in particular-the broad-shouldered, tall boy from the Ward, whom Rodney had selected at the Choosing. He thought for a moment, searching for the boy's name.**

**Horace. That was it."**

"Me?" Horace asked no one in particular.

"**The drill was a standard format. Each boy, wearing a chain mail shirt and helmet and carrying a shield, stood before a padded hardwood post the height of a man. There was no point practicing sword work unless you were burdened with shield, helmet and armour, as would be the case in a battle, Rodney believed. He thought it was best that the boys became used to the restrictions of the armour and weight of the equipment right from the start."**

"So glad I didn't have to go through that," Gilan laughed.

Horace grimaced in memory; those had definitely been painful times in the beginning but he had gotten used to it.

"**In addition to shield, helmet and mail, each boy also held a drill sword issued by the armorer. The drill swords were made of wood and bore little resemblance to a real sword, aside from the leatherbound hilt and crosspiece on each. In fact, they were long batons, made of seasoned, hardened hickory. But they weighed much the same as a slender steel blade, and the hilts were weighted to approximate the heft and balance of a real sword.**

**Eventually, the recruits would progress to drilling with actual swords-albeit with blunted edges and points. But that was still some months away, by which time the less suitable recruits would have been weeded out. It was quite normal for at least a third of the Battleschool applicants to drop out of the harsh training in the first three months. Sometimes it was the boy's choice. For others, it was at the discretion of his instructors or, in extreme cases, Sir Rodney himself."**

"How often do you do that?" Jenny asked

Rodney stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Not that often to be quite honest. Most people are weeded out in the early stages because they can't cope. There are different reasons why I would take people out of battleschool. I only have to do it once every few years."

Horace and Will both grinned. It wasn't a happy grin; it was a wry smile that wouldn't meet their eyes. They both remembered the torture that Horace went through and the justice that was served.

"Please just tell me you kicked out those second year cadets," Cassandra huffed with contempt.

Rodney laughed, "Oh those ones, yes they never saw the battleschool halls after _that _incident."

Duncan looked puzzled, "There was more than one incident?"

"Definitely," Arald answered. He had heard of these cadets and had been present in their banishment. If it had just been a case of bullying he would have left it to Rodney but the cadets had gone as far as to harm an apprentice from another craft. This apprentice had also been part of the organisation that answered directly to the king. That made it _very_ serious.

Everyone besides Duncan and Cassandra knew the story of the three bullies and how their story ended. They were both, needless to say, _very _confused.

"How bad was it?" She asked, "Why did a baron have to become involved?"

Horace sighed, "It involves Will so it'll be in the story, I'm sure of it."

Duncan was still a bit confused, but, knowing they wouldn't get anywhere continuing with this conversation, he motioned for Rodney to continue.

"**Battleschool was harsh and standards were strict.**

**The practice yard rang with the thudding of wood against the thick, sun-hardened leather padding on the practice posts. At the head of the yard, drillmaster Sir Karel called the standard strokes that were being practiced.**

**Five third-year cadets, under the direction of Sir Morton, an assistant drill instructor, moved among the boys, attending to the detail of the basic sword strokes: correcting a wrong movement here, changing the angle of a stroke there, making sure another boy's shield wasn't dropping too far as he struck.**

**It was boring, repetitive work under the hot afternoon sun. But it was necessary. These were the basic moves by which these boys might well live or die at some later date and it was vital that they should be so totally ingrained as to be instinctive.**

**It was that thought that had Rodney watching Horace now. As Karel called the basic cadence, Rodney had noticed that Horace was adding an occasional stroke to the sequence, and yet managing to do so without falling behind in his timing."**

Duncan let out a low whistle.

"That's impressive," he said.

Horace went red with embarrassment. This was high praise coming from a king and a father-in-law.

"The boy was a natural," Rodney praised, "Already ahead of every other first year cadet, already better than the senior cadets as well."

At this Horace became even redder.

Even Arald had agreed.

Halt and Crowley looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Crowley was laughing on the inside while they both thought about how it wasn't in a Ranger's nature to overpraise. As if sensing what Halt was thinking, Lady Pauline decided to speak up.

"Why is it that you never compliment your apprentices?" Pauline asked, staring pointedly at Halt.

Halt groaned loudly, "These two already have big enough heads as it is," he said, motioning his head towards Will and Gilan, "I didn't want to make them any bigger."

"That's our Halt, always thinking of others," Crowley said, trying to keep a straight face, a feat which none of the others could seem to do.

"**Karel had just begun another sequence and Sir Rodney leaned forward attentively, his eyes fixed on Horace.**

**"Thrust! Side cut! Backhand side! Overhand!" called the drillmaster. "Overhead backhand!"**

**And there it was again! As Karel called for the overhead backhand cut, Horace delivered it, but then almost instantly switched to a backhanded side cut as well, allowing the first cut to bounce off the post to prepare him instantly for the second. The stroke was delivered with such stunning speed and force that, in real combat, the result would have been devastating. His opponent's shield, raised to block the overhead cut, could never have responded quickly enough to protect uncovered ribs from the rapid side cut that followed."**

Will staged a loud impatient yawning sound which did not go unnoticed by Alyss.

"Just because this book is about you it doesn't mean we can't listen to other people's achievements," the courier admonished.

"No," Crowley joined in, "but it does mean we have to sit through pointless and endless descriptions on sword fighting techniques. There is a reason why this book is called _Rangers _Apprentice."

"Wait," Arald scratched his head thoughtfully, "I thought it was called the Ruins of Gorlan."

The whole room groaned while Jenny failed to stifle a giggle and Arald wondered what was going on.

"**Rodney had become aware over the past few minutes that the trainee was adding these extra strokes to the routine. He had seen it first from the corner of his eye, noticing a slight variation in the strict pattern of the drill, a quick flicker of extra movement that was there and gone almost too quickly to be noticed.**

**"Rest!" called Karel now, and Rodney noted that, while most of the others let their weapons drop and stood flatfooted, Horace maintained his ready position, the sword tip slightly above waist height, moving on his toes in the break so as not to lose his own natural rhythm."**

"Good," Duncan nodded, "Always be prepared for battle."

Cassandra shook her head, "Dad, two things," she started, "First, Horace is only training, second, you're talking to a book and third, you already know Horace is a brilliant warrior so you don't have to keep complimenting him every time."

"Cassie, two things," Horace spoke up, "First, your math is terrible and second, I think at one point or another we've all talked to the book."

"Also," Arald added, "It is rare that a first year cadet has that good an instinct. Usually it takes years for that kind of instinct to be drilled into a cadet's head."

Duncan smiled at his annoyed daughter, "Case closed," was all he said to her.

"**Apparently, someone else had noticed Horace's extra stroke as well. Sir Morton beckoned over one of the senior cadets and spoke to him, gesturing quickly toward Horace. The first-year trainee, his attention still focused on the training post that was his enemy, didn't see the exchange. He looked up, startled, as the senior cadet approached and called to him.**

**"You there! At post fourteen. What d'you think you're doing?" The look on Horace's face was one of bewilderment-and worry. No first-year recruit enjoyed gaining the attention of any of the drillmasters or their assistants. They were all too conscious of that thirty percent attrition rate."**

"That's horrible," Jenny exclaimed.

"What is?" Gilan asked.

Jenny looked at him in horror, "These people already know that thirty per cent of them are going to leave. It puts them under so much pressure."

Pauline nodded, "It is unneeded pressure. Half the boys there will already stop working hard because they feel they will be expelled."

"Isn't that how they run things in the other crafts," Horace asked, quite confused.

All the others shook their heads.

"In the kitchens," Jenny began, "we were only evicted for two reasons, if we offended Master Chubb or if we burnt anything to a crisp."

"It was similar with the diplomats," Alyss agreed, "We were expelled from the Diplomatic service if we offended any authority figures," (she motioned to Pauline), "Or if we failed two exams in a row and showed a lack of improvement and propriety."

Horace snorted, "Lack of propriety?" he said, "You're all diplomats for crying out loud."

Pauline gave him an amused look, "You would be surprised, there are a number of young people who only become involved with the diplomatic service as they want to travel or they think it is a relaxing profession."

"What about Rangers?" Rodney asked curiously.

"What about us?" Halt said eyeing Rodney coolly.

"Well, on what basis do you disqualify ranger's apprentices," Duncan inquired, it was something the whole room wanted to hear.

Crowley shrugged, "We've never really had to expel anyone but we do expel them if they don't follow protocol and do something stupid. Or if they get really annoying," he added as a joke.

"You can expel them for being annoying?" Halt asked with feigned surprise, "I could have been rid of those two on their first day."

Halt watched as looks of offense made their way onto Will and Gilan's faces.

"Well my job is safe," Cassandra said just a little too innocently, "There's no way I can be expelled."

Everyone snorted with laughter at the all-to-true statement.

"**"Sir?" he said anxiously, not understanding the question. The senior cadet continued.**

**"You're not following the pattern. Follow Sir Karel's call, understand?" Rodney, watching carefully, was convinced that Horace's bewilderment was genuine. The tall boy made a small movement of the shoulders, almost a shrug but not quite. He was at attention now, the sword resting over his right shoulder and the shield up in the parade position.**

**"Sir?" he said again, uncertainly. The senior cadet was getting angry now. He hadn't noticed Horace's extra moves himself and obviously assumed the younger boy was simply following a random sequence of his own devising. He leaned forward, his face only a few centimeters away from Horace's, and said, in a voice far too loud for that small amount of separation: "Sir Karel calls the sequence he wants performed! You perform it! Understand?""**

"We really need to find a new system," Rodney thought aloud.

Horace frowned, "Why is that?"

Cassandra gave his a smack upside the head, "Because of you, you idiot."

Horace continued to look confused.

"The senior cadets are letting their power get to their head. They're there to enforce the rules but they don't seem to be paying attention to them," Rodney explained.

Arald stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"I thought it was a good system," he said, "The senior cadets would have had good experience leading while the first years learnt how to follow orders."

"I'm still waiting for the part about me," Horace said pointedly, earning a few raised eyebrows.

Cassandra sighed, she found Horace to be endearing when he acted clueless. Not that she liked it when he did it _all _the time.

"That cadet wasn't paying attention to you," Cassandra said as she enlightened Horace on the situation, "He should have known what you were doing wrong before he said anything."

If anything, Horace looked more confused.

"But I didn't do anything wrong," he said.

While the whole room flooded with laughter, Cassandra groaned and then slapped Horace across the arm when she saw the corner of his mouth turn upwards ever so slightly.

"**"Sir, I… did," Horace replied, very red in the face now. He knew it was a mistake to argue with an instructor, but he also knew that he had performed every one of the strokes Karel had called.**

**The senior cadet, Rodney saw, was now at a disadvantage. He hadn't actually seen what Horace had done. He covered his uncertainty with bluster. "Oh, you did, did you? Well, perhaps you might just repeat the last sequence for me. What sequence did Sir Karel call?"**

**Without hesitation, Horace replied. "Sequence five, sir: Thrust. Side cut. Backhand side. Overhand. Overhead backhand." The senior cadet hesitated. He'd assumed that Horace had simply been in a dream, hacking away at the post any way he chose. But, as far as he could remember, Horace had just repeated the previous sequence perfectly. At least, he thought he had. The senior cadet wasn't altogether sure of the sequence himself by now, but the trainee had replied with no hesitation at all. He was conscious that all the other trainees were watching with considerable interest. It was a natural reaction. Trainees always enjoyed seeing somebody else being berated for a mistake. It tended to draw attention away from their own deficiencies."**

"That's why I liked training in the diplomatic service," Alyss thought, "You didn't have people like that."

"Actually," Pauline corrected, "We did have people like that, you just didn't see the worst of it and besides you just rose above them."

"Besides," Will dropped his voice to a whisper, speaking only to Alyss, "You would never be berated; you're much too smart for that. And pretty, very, _very_ pretty."

Alyss squeezed Will's hand, showing him affection. She smiled a smile only Jenny, who was sitting right across from her, could see. Halt, who had heard Will the whole time, was mentally grumbling to himself.

Where had that boy learnt how to compliment? It wasn't even a good compliment, he just used the word pretty. _He _himself had not taught Will and he doubted Horace would have been much help to him in that department. Gilan couldn't even string two words together in front of Jenny without bumbling like a buffalo.

Meanwhile, in the conversation that wasn't happening in Halt's head….

"I think everyone sort of enjoyed someone else being hit over the head by Master Chubb," spoke Jenny, "Even though they knew they had a chance of being hit as well."

"Well I don't know what your all yapping about but can we please just finish the chapter," Crowley complained, "I know we haven't been reading for long but I really feel like going for quick ride."

"Agreed," chorused the other rangers.

The others shook their heads fondly; you could never keep a ranger in one place for too long.

"**"What's going on here, Paul?" Sir Morton, the assistant drillmaster, sounded none too pleased with all this discussion. He'd originally ordered the senior cadet to reprimand the trainee for lack of attention. That reprimand should have been delivered by now and the matter ended. Instead, the class was being disrupted. Senior Cadet Paul came to attention.**

**"Sir, the trainee says he performed the sequence," he replied. Horace was about to reply to the implication obvious in the emphasis the senior cadet placed on the word says.**

**Then he thought better of it and shut his mouth firmly.**

**"Just a moment." Paul and Sir Morton looked around, a little surprised. They hadn't seen Sir Rodney approaching. Around them, the other trainees also came to stiff attention. Sir Rodney was held in awe by all members of Battleschool, particularly the newer ones."**

Rodney smiled while reading this sentence; it didn't go unnoticed by the others, especially Pauline. It was nice to be respected because of your status but it was even better if you were respected for your achievements.

Pauline was respected as the first woman to lead the diplomatic service, Rodney was admired for his work in battle and Halt was partly admired but he was greatly feared as well. It seemed that many of the finest crafts masters came from Redmont.

"**Morton didn't quite come to attention but he straightened a little, squaring his shoulders.**

**Horace bit his lip in an agony of concern. He could see the prospect of dismissal from Battleschool looming before him. First, he seemed to have alienated the three second-year cadets who were making his life a misery. Then he had drawn the unwelcome attention of Senior Cadet Paul and Sir Morton. Now this-the Battlemaster himself. And to make matters worse, he had no idea what he had done wrong. He searched his memory and he could distinctly remember performing the sequence as it had been called."**

You were really worried weren't you?" Cassandra asked sadly. She hated that the man she had come to love so much would have a past that could be so terrible. But she had to remind herself that to every down there was an up. Horace would be happy soon.

**"Do you remember the sequence, Cadet Horace?" said the Battlemaster.**

**The cadet nodded emphatically, then, realizing that this wasn't regarded as an acceptable response to a question from a senior officer, he said: "Yes, sir. Sequence five, sir." That was the second time he had identified the sequence, Rodney noted. He would have been willing to bet that not one of the other cadets could have said which sequence from the drill manual they had just completed. He doubted that the senior cadets would have been any better informed. Sir Morton went to say something, but Rodney held up a hand to stop him.**

**"Perhaps you could repeat it for us now," he said, his stern voice giving no hint of the growing interest he was feeling in this recruit. He gestured to the practice post.**

**"Take your position. Calling the cadence… begin!"**

Rodney felt sad for his ex-cadet. Horace had been through so many hardships that Rodney had not known about until now. If he had known what Horace had been going through maybe he wouldn't have publicly exposed him like he had. But in all honesty Rodney wasn't _that_ sorry as he looked at Horace sitting next to Cassandra across the room. He was proud of how far Horace had come.

**Horace performed the sequence flawlessly, calling the strokes as he went.**

**"Thrust! Side cut! Backhand side! Overhand! Overhead backhand!" The drill sword thudded into the leather padding in strict timing. The rhythm was perfect. The execution of the strokes was faultless. But this time, Rodney noticed, there was no additional stroke. The lightning-fast reverse side cut didn't appear. He thought he knew why. Horace was concentrating on getting the sequence correct this time. Previously, he had been acting instinctively.**

**Sir Karel, attracted by Sir Rodney's intervention into a standard drill session, strolled through the ranks of trainees standing by their practice posts. His eyebrows arched a question at Sir Rodney. As a senior knight, he was entitled to such informality. The Battlemaster held up his hand again. He didn't want anything to break Horace's attention right now. But he was glad Karel was here to witness what he was sure was about to happen."**

"How did you know he could do it again," Jenny asked.

Rodney smiled, "Instinct."

"**"Again," he said, in the same stern voice and, once again, Horace went through the sequence. As he finished, Rodney's voice cracked like a whip:**

**"Again!" And again Horace performed the fifth sequence. This time, as he finished, Rodney snapped: "Sequence three!"**

**"Thrust! Thrust! Backstep! Cross parry! Shield block! Side cut!" Horace called as he performed the moves.**

**Now Rodney could see that the boy was moving lightly on his toes, the sword a flickering tongue that danced out and in and across. And without realizing it, Horace was calling the cadence for the moves nearly half as quickly again as the drillmaster had been,Karel caught Rodney's eye. He nodded appreciatively. But Rodney wasn't finished yet. Before Horace had time to think, he called the fifth sequence again and the boy responded." Thrust! Side cut! Backhand side! Overhand! Overhead backhand!"**

**"Backhand side!" snapped Sir Rodney instantly and, in response, almost of its own will, Horace's sword flickered in that extra, deadly move."**

Duncan was astonished, "You performed a backhand side at the age of fifteen without any other proper instruction?"

Horace blushed, "It was instinctive and besides I thought I was doing something wrong at the time. I wasn't too happy about it."

"Boy, you were and still are a natural!" Rodney exclaimed.

There was a chorus of agreements around the room except from Halt and Crowley who still didn't like the idea of over praise. It seemed like they couldn't go two seconds without somebody praising Horace's natural skill.

"**Sir Rodney heard the small sounds of surprise from Morton and Karel. They realized the significance of what they had seen. Senior Cadet Paul, perhaps understandably, wasn't quite so fast to grasp it. As far as he was concerned, the trainee had responded to an extra order from the Battlemaster. He'd done it well, admittedly, and he certainly seemed to know which end of a sword was which. But that was all the cadet had seen.**

**"Rest!" Sir Rodney ordered, and Horace allowed the sword point to drop to the dust, hand on the pommel, standing feet apart with the sword hilt centered against his belt buckle, in the parade rest position.**

**"Now, Horace," said the Battlemaster quietly, "do you remember adding that backhand side cut to the sequence the first time?"**

**Horace frowned, then understanding dawned in his eyes. He wasn't sure, but now that the Battlemaster had prompted his memory, he thought that maybe he had.**

**"Uh… yes, sir. I think so. I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to. It just sort of… happened."**

**Rodney glanced quickly at his drillmasters. He could see they understood the significance of what had happened here. He nodded at them, passing a silent message that he wanted nothing made of this-yet.**

**"Well, no harm done. But pay attention for the rest of the period and just perform the strokes Sir Karel calls for, all right?" Horace came to attention. "Yes, sir." He snapped his eyes toward the drillmaster. "Sorry, sir!" he added, and Karel dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand.**

**"Pay closer attention in future." Karel nodded to Sir Rodney, sensing that the Battlemaster wanted to be on his way. "Thank you, sir. Permission to continue?"**

**Sir Rodney nodded assent. "Carry on, drillmaster." He began to turn away, then, as if he'd remembered something else, he turned back, and added casually, "Oh, by the way, could I see you in my quarters after classes are dismissed this evening?"**

**"Of course, sir," said Karel, equally casually, knowing that Sir Rodney wanted to discuss this phenomenon, but didn't want Horace to be aware of his interest.**

"Believe me," Horace snorted, "I definitely didn't think anything good about it."

**Sir Rodney strolled slowly back to the Battleschool headquarters. Behind him, he heard Karel's preparatory orders, then the repetitive thud, thud, thud-thud-thud of wood on leather padding began once more.**


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

_Dedication_

_I wanted to dedicate this chapter to two people in particular._

_The first dedication is to rangersapprenticedasti._

_rangersapprenticedasti, you may not have reviewed all twelve chapters of this story but you took the time to try. I appreciate it so much. As a thank-you I wanted to dedicate this chapter to you as it is one of my favourite chapters in The Ruins of Gorlan._

_The second dedication is to EmpressLupin._

_EmpressLupin, you read this story and in the space of one minute you reviewed it, put it on your favourites list, you put me on your favourites list, you put the story on your story alerts and then you put me on your author alerts. Ever since then you have been keeping up with the story and have reviewed each chapter. This chapter has a few mild Gilan/Jenny moments that I thought you might like seeing as you requested them._

* * *

><p>"Who hasn't read?" Rodney asked as he held up the leather bound book.<p>

Everyone looked at each other for a few moments before Gilan spoke up.

"I think we're back to the beginning which is me," he said as he went to take the book off Rodney.

"Chapter twelve," Gilan started.

"**Halt Examined the target Will had been shotting at, and nodded.**

**"Not bad at all," he said. "Your shooting is definitely improving." Will couldn't help grinning. That was high praise indeed from Halt. Halt saw the expression and immediately added, "With more practice-a lot more practice-you might even achieve mediocrity.""**

"Halt!" the room groaned. Will was barely able to contain his smirk while Gilan was chuckling in remembrance of his own training.

"What?" Halt asked innocently.

Nobody even bothered to reply as they knew they would never win in an argument with Halt. Though Pauline resolved to have a word with Crowley later about having Halt banned from taking on another apprentice for fear of the apprentice's self-esteem flying away due to Halt's sarcasm.

"**Will wasn't absolutely sure what mediocrity was, but he sensed it wasn't good."**

"Believe me young Will," Arald said gravely, "We all know you were high above mediocrity at that time."

"Did you believe everything that Halt said to you?" Jenny asked with genuine curiosity.

Gilan gave a short bark of laughter as he wrapped his arm around Jenny.

"It was hard not to at that point," Gilan said with an easy tone, he no longer had to watch himself as carefully when he spoke in front of Halt, "He was so sure about what he said. Even when he talked about the law he assumed he was always right."

Will grinned, "He even went as far as to break it sometimes."

The whole room was set off with laughter. Duncan, while laughing, became uneasy. Halt did have a tendency to follow his own rules. He resolved to have another talk with the grim faced ranger about what he could and could not do. But, Duncan thought, Halt was always able to get the best results, maybe it was best to just leave him be.

"**The grin faded and Halt dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand.**

**"That's enough shooting for now. Let's go," he said and set off, striding down a narrow path through the forest.**

**"Where are we going?" Will asked, half running to keep up with the Ranger's longer strides.**

**Halt looked up at the trees above him.**

**"Why does this boy ask so many questions?" he asked the trees. Naturally, they didn't answer."**

More laughter filled the room at Halt's natural antics. Halt raised his eyebrow when he saw the lot of them which set the rest of the room into renewed chimes of laughter. On the inside Halt was grinning. When he ran from his old life all those years ago he didn't realise he'd find his true family right here in Araluen. But he would never admit it to _them_

"**They walked for an hour before they came to a small collection of buildings buried deep in the forest."**

Will looked up in alarm.

"I know what happens here," he announced to his fellow ranger's.

Halt, Gilan and Crowley had all worked out what event was about to take place but they had all remained silent up until this point. Gilan was unsure as to whether to keep reading or not.

"Should I?" Gilan asked holding up the book and looking to his superior.

While everyone had confused looks plastered across their faces it was Jenny who finally asked, "Should you what?"

Gilan looked at her helplessly, "I'm not sure it's my place to tell you."

A look of annoyance crossed Jenny's face. It wasn't like Gilan to keep secrets from her. She thought they had formed a close enough bond to keep that from happening. But evidently not, Jenny thought.

Pauline had already deduced that this was a secret of the rangers that was meant to be hidden. Obviously they were a bit nervous about revealing it.

"Maybe if we were to give you some time to think about what we're reading," Pauline suggested, "Would that be alright?"

"No need my dear," Crowley interjected. Crowley and Halt shared a look that nobody missed even though they didn't understand it.

"I guess we should have known this would happen," Halt sighed, "I mean it is called Ranger's Apprentice."

Crowley was grim faced, "I didn't think all of our secrets would be released in one short story. I just thought it was about Will's life."

Alyss, who had also worked out that this small display was all due to an important piece of information that the Ranger's didn't want getting out, found the need to say, "But Will is a ranger and the title has the word apprentice in it. I don't think anything you taught Will is going to be safe."

While the others had been talking, Rodney, Arald, Duncan, Horace, and Cassandra had remained silent.

"Well," Cassie exclaimed, "I for one don't know what's going on here but I intend on finding out. If you don't open that book right know I'll take it off you and read it myself."

She spoke with such force that nobody was willing to contradict her, not even Duncan. Horace even stayed by her side, silently nodding the whole time while Rodney and Arald sat in their places a little dumbfounded.

Halt turned to Crowley, Will and Gilan and nodded in their direction.

Crowley cleared his throat and said, "_Clearly_ we are discussing whether or not this bit of information that you are about to discover should be skipped or read aloud."

"Wait this is a ranger secret?" Horace interrupted.

"Yes you idiot," Cassandra exclaimed loudly, "What did you think they were talking about?"

Horace looked wounded, "Well, you all seem to be speaking nonsense, how was I supposed to know what you were talking about?"

"The reluctant ranger's," Cassie began, "are discussing whether or not to read ahead. Come on, even you would have to understand what's going on."

And so began one of those tiresome marital arguments where both husband and wife yell over the top of each other just to prove each other wrong. The chapter was forgotten and they all sat there, staring at the newlyweds who were still fighting. That was until….

"ENOUGH!" Halt yelled.

"Obviously this isn't what we wanted but the revelation that happens in this chapter is not worth fighting over," Crowley lectured sternly, "It doesn't matter if you hear it because none of you will ever need a ranger's horse unless you are in an emergency. In which case it would be good for you to know how a ranger's horse responds."

Crowley said all of this without taking a breath.

"Wait," Arald said, "I thought this was a secret about ranger's, not about horses."

The whole room groaned.

"Just read," Duncan grumbled to Gilan.

"**Will was aching to ask more questions. But he'd learned by now that Halt wasn't going to answer them, so he held his tongue and bided his time."**

"Maybe all of you should have done that as well," Halt murmured.

Pauline shook her head, "Don't start dear," she whispered in his ear, "Not now."

"**Sooner or later, he knew, he'd learn why they'd come here. Halt led the way up to the largest of the ramshackle huts, then stopped, signalling for Will to do likewise.**

**"Hullo, Old Bob!" he called."**

"Who's Old Bob?" Duncan asked curiously.

Preventing Halt from saying something sarcastic, Crowley replied, "You'll find out in the story my lord, if we are truly following Will's life."

"**Will heard someone moving inside the hut, then a wrinkled, bent figure appeared in the doorway. His beard was long and matted and a dirty white color. He was almost completely bald. As he moved toward them, grinning and nodding a greeting to Halt, Will caught his breath. Old Bob smelled like a stable. And a none too clean one at that."**

The rangers smiled fondly at the reminder of their old friend Old Bob. Jenny was a bit confused.

"You're all smiling because this man smells like a stable?" Jenny questioned, eyebrow raised.

The room started laughing while Will and Crowley smiled even more widely. Halt's eyebrow had risen into his hairline and Gilan had a twinkle in his eye that came not from Jenny's question but from Jenny herself. With their fingers intertwined, nobody else could see them holding hands as Gilan continued to read.

"**"Morning to you, Ranger!" said Old Bob. "Who's this you've brung to see me?" He looked keenly at Will. The eyes were bright and very alert, despite his dirty, unkempt appearance.**

**"This is Will, my new apprentice," said Halt. "Will, this is Old Bob"**

**"Good morning, sir," said Will politely. The old man cackled. "Calls me sir! Hear that, Ranger, calls me sir! Make a fine Ranger, this one will!" Will smiled at him. Dirty as he might be, there was something likable about Old Bob-perhaps it was the fact that he seemed to be in no way overawed by Halt. Will couldn't remember seeing anyone speaking to the grim-faced Ranger in quite this familiar tone before."**

That was still very true, Will thought. Many people respected Halt more in admiration whereas Old Bob seemed to treat Halt with the respect of a friend which most people in the room had come to do as well.

"**Halt grunted impatiently.**

**"Are they ready?" he asked. The old man cackled again and nodded several times.**

**"Ready they are indeed!" he said. "Step this way and see them." He led them to the back of the hut, where a small paddock was fenced off. At the far side, there was a lean-to shed. Just a roof and supporting posts. No walls. Old Bob let out a piercing whistle that made Will jump.**

**"There they are, see?" he said, pointing to the lean-to.**

**Will looked and saw two small horses trotting across the yard to greet the old man. As they came closer, he realized that one was a horse, the other was a pony. But both were small, shaggy animals, nothing like the fierce, sleek battlehorses that the Baron and his knights rode to war."**

"Even so," Crowley proclaimed, "They can run those battle horses to the ground."

Nearly everyone murmured in agreement. A while ago Horace would have been willing to bet that this wasn't true, but knowing the ranger's the way he did, or more specifically, knowing their horses, he knew there was no point in starting an argument that would only leave him to bite the dust.

"**The larger of the two trotted immediately to Halt's side. He patted its neck and handed it an apple from a bin close by the fence. The horse crunched it gratefully. Halt leaned forward and said a few words into its ear. The horse tossed its head and neighed, as if it were sharing some private joke with the Ranger."**

"You rangers sure do have a weird relationship with your horses," Cassie observed.

All the rangers glared at her. A relationship between horse and ranger wasn't something they ever really openly discussed.

Alyss chuckled, "They don't talk about it," she said, "their horses are the only ones that win arguments against them, especially Tug."

"He does not!" Will exclaimed and then he blushed as most of the room laughed at him for admitting to his and Tug's strange relationship.

""**The pony waited by Old Bob until he had given it an apple to crunch as well. Then it turned one large, intelligent eye on Will. "This 'un's called Tug," said the old man. "He looks about your size, don't he?" He passed the rope bridle to Will, who took it and looked into the horse's eyes. He was a shaggy little beast. His legs were short, but sturdy. His body was barrel shaped. His mane and tail were ragged and unbrushed. All in all, as horses went, he wasn't a very impressive sight, thought Will."**

"And so begins the beautiful relationship between horse and ranger," Horace laughed.

Will grinned evilly, "Laugh all you like but my horse could outrun yours in a heartbeat."

Halt snorted. "We don't doubt that," he said as he thought of Tug's impressive speed.

"**He'd always dreamt of the horse he would one day ride into battle: in those dreams, the horse was tall and majestic. It was fierce and jet black, combed and brushed until it shone like black armor."**

"No I don't think like that anymore," Will sighed as he spoke before anyone else could say anything.

"**This horse almost seemed to sense what he was thinking and butted its head gently against his shoulder.**

_**I may not be very big**_**, its eyes seemed to say, **_**but I might just surprise you**_**.**

**"Well," said Halt. "What do you think of him?" He was fondling the other horse's soft nose. They were obviously old friends. Will hesitated. He didn't want to offend anyone.**

**"He's sort of… small," he said finally.**

**"So are you," Halt pointed out."**

Again the room's occupants couldn't breathe as they were laughing so hard.

"You just had to point that out didn't you Halt?" Cassandra gasped.

"Only Halt," Rodney wheezed.

Pauline was chuckling but that still didn't mean she approved. Halt still knew he would get a scolding for everything he did to Will during his apprenticeship now that Pauline was finding out what he did.

Gilan was just glad Halt didn't have the chance to say that to him during _his _apprenticeship even though his height had been the source of many jokes amongst his fellow rangers.

"**Will couldn't think of an answer to that. Old Bob wheezed with laughter.**

**"He ain't no battlehorse, are he, boy?" he asked.**

**"Well… no, he isn't," Will said awkwardly. He liked Bob and he felt any criticism of the pony might be taken personally. But Old Bob simply laughed again.**

**"But he'll run any of those fine fancy-looking battlehorses into the ground!" he said proudly."**

"My words exactly," Crowley grinned.

Alyss laughed, "But this Old Bob person said them first."

"Your point?"

"They're his words," Alyss pointed out.

"This argument is pointless," Jenny cried out.

"**"He's a strong'un, this 'un. He'll keep going all day, long after them fancy horses have laid down and died." Will looked at the shaggy little animal doubtfully.**

**"I'm sure he will," he said politely.**

**Halt leaned against the paddock fence.**

**"Why don't you see?" he suggested. "You're fast on your feet. Turn him loose and see if you can capture him again.""**

"DON'T!" nearly the whole room yelled at Will.

Will grinned, "I think you're forgetting that this has already happened. In fact it was over ten years ago."

"Still, you shouldn't do it," Horace whined.

"What did you do?" Pauline whispered into her husband's ear.

"**Will sensed the challenge in the Ranger's voice. He dropped the rope bridle. The horse, as if realizing that this was some sort of test, skipped lightly away into the center of the small enclosure. Will ducked under the fence rails and walked softly toward the pony. He held out his hand invitingly. "Come on, boy," he said. "Stand still there." He reached out his hand for the bridle and the little horse suddenly wheeled away. It shied to one side, then the other, then sidestepped neatly around Will and danced backward out of reach."**

Again there was laughter.

"It's a wonder that you even caught him in the first place, he's that fast," Horace snickered.

"**He tried again. Again, the horse evaded him easily. Will was beginning to feel foolish. He advanced on the horse and it backed away, moving closer and closer to one of the corners. Then, just when Will thought he had it, it nimbly danced to one side and was away again.**

**Will lost his temper now and ran after it. The horse whinnied in amusement and romped easily out of his reach. It was enjoying this game.**

**And so it went. Will would approach, the horse would duck and dodge and escape. Even in the close confines of the small paddock, he couldn't catch it."**

"Oh just give him apple," Cassandra laughed, "He'll come running for those."

Cassie didn't miss the faint blush that crept onto Will's face.

"**He stopped. He was conscious of the fact that Halt was watching him carefully. He thought for a moment or two. There must be a way to do it. He'd never catch a horse as light on its feet and fast-moving as this one. There must be another way…His gaze fell on the bin of apples outside the fence. Quickly, he ducked under the rail and seized an apple. Then he went back into the paddock and stood stock-still, holding the apple out.**

**"Come on, boy," he said."**

"Wow," Horace whispered in his wife's ear, "You told the future."

It earned him a playful slap on his arm.

"**Tug's ears shot up. He liked apples. He also thought he liked this boy-he played this game well. Tossing his head approvingly, he trotted forward and took the apple delicately."**

"Wait," Rodney shook his head, "We get to hear the horse's thoughts as well?"

"Well Will gets to listen to Tug's thoughts every day," Alyss revealed to Will's embarrassment, "I think it's only fair that we finally get to hear what they talk about."

Arald let out a bark of laughter, "You only want to hear what that little beast says because he's the third person in your marriage."

At that moment the whole room burst into laughter that became so infectious that Will joined in. Not for the first time that day Halt had his eyebrow raised.

"I don't know what you're finding so funny," Pauline said sternly, "You know bloody well that your blasted horse is also the third person in _our _marriage."

Halt pretended to angrily glare at her, "What did you call my horse, woman?"

"The third person in our marriage, my dear," Pauline replied innocently as she knew Halt was referring to the 'blasted horse' part.

"**Will seized hold of the bridle and the pony crunched the apple. If a horse could be said to look blissful, this one did.**

**Will looked up and saw Halt nodding approval.**

**"Well thought out," said the Ranger. Old Bob elbowed the gray-cloaked man in the ribs.**

**"Clever boy, that!" he cackled. "Clever and polite! That 'un'll make a good team with Tug, won't he?" Will patted the shaggy neck and the pricked-up ears. He looked now at the old man.**

**"Why do you call him Tug?" he asked.**

**Instantly, Will's arm was nearly torn from its socket as the pony jerked its head back. Will staggered, then regained his balance. Old Bob's braying laugh rang out around the clearing."**

The room mirrored Old Bob's reaction. It was good to hear about Tug and Will bonding at such an early stage. All the other rangers knew how he would have felt by this time.

**"See if you can guess!" he said delightedly.**

**His laughter was infectious and Will couldn't help smiling himself. Halt glanced up at the sun, which was fast disappearing behind the trees that fringed Old Bob's clearing and the meadows beyond.**

**"Take him over to the lean-to and Bob can show you how to groom him and look after his tack," he said, then added to the old man, "We'll stay with you tonight, Bob, if that's not inconvenient?" The old horse handler nodded his head in pleasure. "I'll be glad of the company, Ranger. Sometimes I spend so much time with the horses that I start to think I'm one myself." Unconsciously, he dipped a hand into the apple barrel and selected one, absentmindedly crunching into it-much as Tug had done a few minutes earlier. Halt watched him, one eyebrow raised.**

**"We might be just in time," he observed dryly. "Then, tomorrow, we'll see if Will can ride Tug as well as catch him," he said, guessing as he said it that his apprentice would get very little sleep that night.**

**He was right. Old Bob's tiny cabin had only two rooms, so after their supper, Halt stretched out on the floor by the fireplace and Will bedded down in the warm, clean straw of the barn, listening to the gentle whiffling sounds of the two horses. The moon rose and fell as he lay wide awake, wondering and worrying over what the next day might bring. Would he be able to ride Tug? He'd never ridden a horse. Would he fall off the minute he tried? Would he be hurt? Worse still, would he embarrass himself? He liked Old Bob and he didn't want to look foolish in front of him. Nor in front of Halt, he realized, with a little surprise. He was still wondering when Halt's good opinion had come to mean so much to him when he finally fell asleep."**

"It means a lot from the very beginning," Gilan reminisced.

Halt watched Will and Gilan with one eyebrow raised. He knew they both respected him but he hadn't exactly known that they were looking for his good opinion from the very beginning. His heart softened with the thought.

"Wait," Horace scratched his head thoughtfully, "What big secret were you all fighting about?"

They all looked from ranger to ranger expectantly but the rangers all had a good poker face.

"It'll come up later," Gilan promised, finally letting go of Jenny's hand as he passed on the book to Pauline. Pauline noticed the Jenny was very quick to recapture his hand as he leaned back into his seat.

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><p><em>When I say 'everyone laughed' or 'everyone yelled' I just mean that 'nearly the whole room' laughed or yelled. I just don't want to have to keep saying 'everyone except Halt' etc.<em>

_Chapter Nine was uploaded when I returned from my year long break. I reread the first eight chapters and the prologue of this story and decided to re-update them as the spelling and punctuation was terrible. The chapters are exactly the same except I edited them and I moved all author's notes to the bottom of the page. I also got rid of the part where I promised to finish the whole series so no one will be misled._

_I have never done any dedications before but I felt it necessary for this chapter so as to let people know I am listening to them. Also, thank-you to everyone for all your kind reviews, I really do appreciate them._

_Tia97_


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

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><p>"<strong>"So, you saw it. What did you think?" Sir Rodney asked."<strong>

"Oh no," Rodney said, "We're back to me already."

"We only cut to you when you're talking about Horace," Pauline pointed out.

Horace straightened up eagerly, "I get to hear about me."

Will sighed with relief, "Better than hearing about me."

Jenny laughed, "Because _your _life is _so_ boring."

"Touché," Will grinned.

"**Karel reached across and poured himself another tankard from the jug of beer that was on the table between them. Rodney's quarters were simple enough-even Spartan when it was remembered that he was head of the Battleschool. Battlemasters in other fiefs took advantage of the position to surround themselves with the trappings of luxury, but that wasn't Rodney's style."**

"Oh, you have a style?" Arald joked.

"**His room was simply furnished, with a pinewood table for a desk and six straight-backed pine chairs around it.**

**There was a fireplace in the corner, of course. Rodney might have preferred to live in a simple style, but that didn't mean he enjoyed discomfort, and winters in Castle Redmont were cold. Right now it was late summer and the thick stone walls of the castle buildings served to keep the interiors cool. When the cold weather came, those same thick walls would retain the heat of the fire. On one wall, a large bay window looked out over the Battleschool's drill field. Facing the window, on the opposite wall, was a doorway, screened by a thick curtain, leading to Rodney's sleeping quarters-a simple soldier's bed and more wooden furniture. It had been a little more ornate when his wife Antoinette was still alive, but she had died some years previously"**

Rodney bowed his head; Antoinette was still a sore topic for him even though it had been many a year since he had last been with her. Arald patted his back in sympathy and Rodney gave him a smile in thanks.

"**and the rooms were now unmistakably masculine in character, without any item in them that wasn't functional and with an absolute minimum of decoration.**

**"I saw it," Karel agreed. "Not sure that I believed it, but I saw it.""**

"Saw what?" chorused most of the room.

"Horace," Rodney replied simply.

Horace, still astonished, said "Me?"

Cassandra groaned into her hands, "Why are you so surprised when the book talks about you. We've gone over this before, YOU are in this book. We are talking about YOU!"

Horace remained silent in fear of his wife's temper.

"**"You saw it only once," said Rodney. "He was doing it constantly throughout the session-and I'm convinced that he was doing it unconsciously."**

**"As fast as the one I saw?" Karel asked. Rodney nodded emphatically.**

**"If anything, faster. He was adding an extra stroke to the routines but staying in time with the call." He hesitated, then finally said what they were both thinking. "The boy is a natural." Karel inclined his head thoughtfully. Based on what he'd seen, he wasn't prepared to dispute the fact. And the Battlemaster had been watching the boy for some time during the session, he knew. But naturals were few and far between. They were those unique people for whom the skill of swordplay moved into an entirely different dimension. It became not so much a skill as an instinct to them."**

As soon a Horace opened his mouth everyone started complaining at once.

"Yes you were a natural Horace."

"We already know how good you are."

"Don't get a big head you oaf."

Horace eyed them all coolly.

"Are we done yet?"

"No!" chorused the rangers. Typical.

They seemed to have a staring competition for a moment before Horace finally huffed in annoyance and motioned for Pauline to continue reading.

"**They were the ones who became the champions. The sword masters. Experienced warriors like Sir Rodney and Sir Karel were expert swordsmen,"**

For a second Rodney had a look of pure astonishment on his face but it was soon replaced with a look of superiority. Pauline smiled at this. It wasn't often that Rodney allowed himself to admire his own talents. He frequently scorned those in his battleschool who got a big head with all the admiration they received.

"**but naturals took the skill to a higher plane. It was as if for them, the sword in their hand became a true extension not just of their bodies, but of their personalities as well. The sword seemed to act in instant communion and harmony with the natural's mind, acting even faster than conscious thought. Naturals were possessed of unique skills in timing and balance and rhythm."**

Horace was a tad embarrassed again at being described this way.

"**As such, they presented a heavy responsibility to those who were entrusted with their training. For those natural skills and abilities had to be carefully nurtured and developed in a long-term training program to allow the warrior, already highly proficient as a matter of course, to develop his true potential for genius.**

**"You're sure?" Karel said eventually and Rodney nodded again, his gaze out the window. In his mind he was seeing the boy training, seeing those extra flickers of lightning-fast movement.**

**"I'm sure," he said simply. "We'll have to let Wallace know that he'll have another pupil next semester.""**

"Who's Wallace?" Cassandra asked before Pauline could take a breath.

"Why would you send Horace away?" Jenny asked before Rodney could answer.

"Is he important in this unnecessary rehashing of the past?" Halt asked before anyone else decided to speak.

Duncan groaned as did Crowley and Arald.

"If he's important we'll know," Duncan said finally.

"**Wallace was the sword master at the Redmont Battleschool."**

"See," Horace dared to say to Cassie, "You only had to wait." This earned him a hard thump on the head.

"**He was the one who had the responsibility for adding the final polish to the basic skills that Karel and the others taught."**

"See," Gilan said to Jenny, mockingly repeating Horace's sentiments, "You only had to wait."

They waited patiently for the sound of a slap while Jenny glared at Gilan, her eyes like daggers. Gilan in turn actually became a little nervous, had he finally crossed the line? Jenny could contain herself no longer. She burst out laughing at the look on Gilan's face while the others joined in. Gilan looked astonished. His eyes made contact with Halt's who was as grim as ever.

Halt gave him a look that seemed to say, 'Hey, marriage is ten times worse than that.'

Gilan rolled his eyes. Marrying Jenny would be so worth it.

"**In the event of an outstanding trainee-as Horace obviously was-he would give them private instruction in advanced techniques. Karel curled his bottom lip thoughtfully as he thought about the time frame Rodney had suggested.**

**"Not until then?" he said. The next semester was almost three months away. "Why not get him started straightaway? From what I saw, he's already mastered the basic stuff." But Rodney shook his head.**

**"We haven't really assessed his personality yet," he said. "He seems a nice enough lad, but you never know. If he turns out to be a misfit of some kind, I don't want to give him the sort of advanced instruction that Wallace can provide."**

**Once he thought of it, Karel agreed with the Battlemaster. After all, if it should turn out that Horace had to be disqualified from Battleschool because of some other failing, it might be embarrassing, not to mention dangerous, if he were already on the road to being a highly trained swordsman. Disqualified trainees often reacted with resentment."**

Another memory of his childhood bullies came to Horace's mind. After they had been expelled they had caused quite a bit of trouble on the farms. The reports had of course been a secret so the whole school knew about them within a week.

"**"And another thing," Rodney added. "Let's keep this to ourselves-and tell Morton the same. I don't want the boy hearing any word of this yet. It might make him cocky and that could be dangerous for him.""**

Cassandra snorted, "Understatement."

"**"That's true enough," Karel agreed. He finished the last of his beer in two quick drafts, set his tankard down on the table and stood. "Well, I'd better be getting along. I've got reports to finish."**

**"Who hasn't?" the Battlemaster said with some feeling, and the two old friends exchanged rueful grins. "I never knew there was so much paper involved in running a Battleschool." Karel snorted in derision.**

**"Sometimes I think we should forget the weapons training and just throw all the paper at the enemy-bury them in it.""**

"Hmmm, maybe we should," Duncan suggested in all seriousness.

Arald stared at him, not knowing what to say.

Duncan sighed, "That was a joke Arald, liven up a bit."

Arald sat there looking dumbfounded while the others tried to hide their snickers.

"**He gave an informal salute just touching one finger to his forehead-that was in keeping with his seniority. Then he turned and headed for the door. He paused as Rodney added one last point to their discussion.**

**"Keep an eye on the boy, of course," he said. "But don't let him become aware of it."**

"**"Of course," Karel replied. "We don't want him to start thinking there's something special about him."**

**At that moment, there was no chance that Horace would think there was anything special about him-at least, not in any positive sense. What he did feel was that there was something about him that attracted trouble.**

**Word had gone around about the strange scene at the training ground. His classmates, not understanding what had happened, all assumed that Horace had somehow annoyed the Battlemaster and now waited for the inevitable retribution. They knew that the rule during the first semester was that, when one member of a class made a mistake, the entire class paid for it. As a result, the atmosphere in their dormitory had been strained, to say the least. Horace had finally made his way out of the room, intending to head for the river to escape the condemnation and blame he could feel from the others. Unfortunately, when he did so, he walked straight into the waiting arms of Alda, Bryn and Jerome."**

They all groaned. Jenny was still scared for Horace even though she knew it was all in the past. Rodney silently cursed a t himself for not realising he had bullies in his own school, Cassandra felt sick and wished she didn't have to hear what happened next and Will was mentally berating himself for making fun of Horace during that time.

"It wasn't your fault," Alyss whispered into his ear.

""**The three older boys had heard a garbled version of the scene at the practice yard. They assumed that Horace had been criticized for his sword work and decided to make him suffer for it."**

"That sounds like a game of Nihon-Ja whispers," Horace thought aloud.

"What's Nihon-Ja whispers?" Jenny asked.

"It's when you sit in a circle and someone starts off with a message," Gilan explained, "you have to pass the message through everyone without altering the message in any way."

"Then," Will continued, "the last person to hear the message has to say it out loud."

"That doesn't sound too hard," Jenny assumed.

Alyss chuckled, "It's harder than it sounds."

Halt snorted, "Only because stupid people don't listen properly."

"Oh really, care to make a wager my dear," Pauline challenged him.

"Definitely," came Halt's dramatic reply.

Pauline smiled at him, "Alright dear, if I win there is to be no sarcasm for a week."

"Done," Halt smiled slyly.

"Are we seriously playing this right now?" Cassandra asked.

"Yep!" They all cried out enthusiastically. They all looked at Cassandra expectantly, waiting for her to pass on a message. She thought of something, whispered it to Horace and then watched as one by one everyone was whispering to the person next to them. Alyss was next-to-last and she leaned over gracefully to whisper in Halt's ear. Halt gave her a quizzical look, glanced around the room and, with an eyebrow raised, finally said, "The king has lost his marbles."

No one dared speak. It was high treason to speak of the king in such a manner. Halt had already been banished once because of it. However Duncan threw back his head and cried out with laughter while Cassandra chuckled lightly.

"So that's Nihon-Ja whispers for you," Gilan said as he grinned down at Jenny.

"Out of curiosity," Jenny began, "What was the actual phrase? I heard something completely different."

They all stared at Cassie who grinned mischievously.

"I said," Cassandra began, "I'm the queen of the castle."

"What an interesting game," was all Jenny (or anyone else) could say.

"**However, they knew that their attentions would not necessarily meet with the approval of the Battleschool staff. Horace, as a newcomer, had no way of knowing that this sort of systematic bullying was totally disapproved of by Sir Rodney and the other instructors. Horace simply assumed that was the way things were supposed to be and, not knowing any better, went along with it, allowing himself to be bullied and insulted."**

"I would never have stood for it," Rodney proclaimed, half sad but also half angry.

"That's not what any battlemaster should stand for," Duncan amended.

"**It was for this reason that the three second-year cadets marched Horace to the riverside, where he had been heading anyway, and away from the sight of instructors. Here, they made him wade thigh-deep into the river, then stand to attention.**

**"Baby can't use his sword properly," said Alda.**

**Bryn took up the refrain. "Baby made the Battlemaster angry. Baby doesn't belong in Battleschool. Babies shouldn't be given swords to play with."**

**"Baby should throw stones instead," Jerome concluded the sarcastic litany. "Pick up a stone, Baby." Horace hesitated, then glanced around, The riverbed was full of stones and he bent to get one. As he did so, his sleeve and the upper part of his jacket became soaked.**

**"Not a small stone, Baby," Alda said, smiling evilly at him. "You're a big baby, so you need a big stone."**

**"A great big stone," Bryn added, indicating with his hands that he wanted Horace to pick up a large rock. Horace looked around him and saw several larger pieces in the crystal-clear water. He bent and retrieved one of them. In doing so, he made a mistake. The rock he chose was easy to lift under the water, but as he brought it above the surface, he grunted with the weight of it.**

**"Let's see it, Baby," Jerome said. "Hold it up." Horace braced himself-the swiftly running current of the river made it difficult to keep his balance and hold the heavy rock at the same time-then he lifted it to chest height so his tormentors could see it.**

**"Right up, Baby," Alda commanded. "Right over your head." Painfully, Horace obeyed. The rock was feeling heavier by the second, but he held it high above his head and the three boys were satisfied.**

**"That's good, Baby," Jerome said, and Horace, with a relieved sigh, began to let the rock down again.**

**"What are you doing?" demanded Jerome angrily. "I said that's good. So that's where I want the rock to stay."**

**Horace struggled and lifted the rock above his head once more, holding it at arm's length. Alda, Bryn and Jerome nodded their approval.**

**"Now you can stay there," Alda told him, "while you count to five hundred. Then you can go back to the dormitory."**

**"Start counting," Bryn ordered him, grinning at the idea.**

**"One, two, three…" began Horace, but they all shouted at him almost immediately.**

**"Not so fast, Baby! Nice and slowly. Start again."**

**"One… two… three…" Horace counted, and they nodded their approval.**

**"That's better. Now a nice slow count to five hundred and you can go." Alda told him.**

**"Don't try to fudge it, because we'll know," threatened Jerome. "And you'll be back here counting to one thousand."**

"You should have just left it," Cassandra muttered angrily, "They can't know _everything_ that happens in the battleschool."

"I have to work hard to keep up with the happenings of Battleschool it's a miracle that these youngsters were able to do it," Rodney said, agreeing with Cassandra's statement.

"I was young and scared," Horace explained, "I did everything that they told me too because I didn't know right from wrong."

"Besides," Halt joked, "It's actually quite easy to get away with things right under _your_ nose."

Whether it was a reference to Rodney's oddly shaped nose from his battle days, Pauline did not know. However she did know that Halt had a promise to keep.

"I thought we were abstaining from sarcasm this week my dear," Pauline reminded Halt, referencing their bet from their game of Nihon-Ja whispers.

"Well, my dear," Halt said, "you said _a _week. You never specified _which _week."

Will sniggered. "He'll pay for that one later," he said in Alyss' ear.

"I don't know why you see that so funny," Alyss whispered, "You've got plenty of things to pay for now."

Will gave her an incredulous stare.

"Like what?" he asked her.

"Like the sarcastic commentary we've heard from you entire time we've been reading this book."

And with that, Will argued no more.

"**Laughing among themselves, the three students headed back to their quarters. Horace remained in midstream, arms trembling with the weight of the rock, tears of frustration and humiliation filling his eyes. Once, he lost his balance and fell full length in the water. After that, his heavy, sodden clothing made it all the harder to hold the rock above his head, but he kept at it.**

**He couldn't be sure that they weren't concealed somewhere, watching him, and if they were, they'd make him pay for disobeying their instructions.**

**If this was the way of things, then so be it, he thought. But he promised himself that, first chance he got, he was going to make somebody pay for the humiliation he was undergoing.**

**Much later, clothes soaked, arms aching and a deep feeling of resentment burning in his heart, he crept back to his quarters.**

**He was too late for the evening meal, but he didn't care. He was too miserable to eat."**

"That is hard to believe," Cassandra laughed, hoping to bring back a happy atmosphere in the room.

"True," Crowley joined in, "I believe the castle ran short on food supplies within the first month of you living here in Castle Araluen."

"That's nothing," Jenny smirked, "I had to double my food supply back at the restaurant when I first opened because I knew if he came he would eat everything off the menu. I was right."

The atmosphere in the room had lightened greatly but the conversation didn't stop there.

"Ever since he left Redmont there was a huge amount of leftover food," Arald laughed with tears in his eyes.

Everyone else just stopped and started at him.

"But sir," Will said innocently, "All that food mysteriously disappeared didn't it?"

"Yes I believe so Will," Halt smirked catching on, "In fact I seem to recall a large amount of dishes being brought to and from the Baron's quarters."

"Oh I don't believe Lady Sandra could have eaten that much food," Pauline smiled slyly as she talked about Arald's wife.

Arald had gone very red by this point. It was known that he often did enjoy a good meal at any time of the day but that did not mean he wasn't fit or unhealthy.

"Oh shut up the lot of you," Arald huffed as they all smirked at him.

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><p>Thanks for your kind reviews<p> 


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

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><p>Alyss opened the book to chapter fourteen and began to read.<p>

""**Walk him around a little," said Halt.**

**Will glanced back at the shaggy pony, who watched him with intelligent eyes."**

"Wait, so we're back to the ranger horses?" Arald asked.

"It seems so," Crowley nodded.

"So it'll happen in this section of the story?" Will sighed, not really looking for an answer.

Gilan nodded, understanding the feeling of having to give up a secret that was very dear to him. Everyone else guessed this statement was about the topic they had all been arguing about earlier.

"**"Come on, boy," he said, and pulled on the halter. Instantly, Tug braced his forelegs and refused to move. Will pulled harder on the rope, leaning back in his efforts to make the stubborn little pony move."**

Cassandra chuckled.

"He's so stubborn," she said with a fond smile, "Just like you."

"I am _not _stubborn!" Will argued.

"Yes you are," Alyss said clearly trying not to laugh.

"You all are," Pauline added with a smile.

Jenny couldn't resist, "Every last one of you."

"WE ARE NOT!" all the rangers except Halt yelled.

"Yes we are and you better start believing it," Halt grumbled.

Rodney smiled. "Well that settles that argument."

"**Old Bob cackled with laughter.**

**"He be stronger than you!" he said.**

**Will felt his ears reddening with embarrassment. He pulled harder. Tug twitched his ears and resisted. It was like trying to pull a house along."**

"Wait," Horace said, doubling over with laughter, "You and Tug didn't even _get along_ when you first met?"

For some reason Horace found this particularly hilarious. Nobody else was laughing though and Cassandra had to kick Horace to get him to shut up.

"**"Don't look at him," Halt said softly. "Just take the rope and walk away from him. He'll follow."**

**Will tried it that way. He turned his back on Tug, seized the rope firmly and began walking. The pony trotted easily after him. Will looked at Halt and grinned."**

They all laughed at Will's expectations of a smile from Halt. Halt just raised his eyebrow towards the boy which sent the rest of them into fresh peals of laughter.

"**The Ranger nodded his head toward the far fence of the paddock. Will glanced across and saw a small saddle, placed across the top rail of the fence.**

**"Saddle him up," said the Ranger.**

**Tug clip-clopped docilely across to the fence. Will looped the reins around the fence rail and hefted the saddle across the pony's back. He bent down to fasten the girth straps of the saddle.**

**"Pull them good and tight!" Old Bob advised him.**

**Finally, the saddle was firmly in position. Will looked eagerly at Halt. "Can I ride him now?" he asked.**

**The Ranger stroked his uneven beard thoughtfully before he answered. "If you feel that's a good idea, go ahead," he said, finally."**

"Oh no," Alyss groaned, looking worried, "You didn't actually do it did you?"

"Why what's going to happen?" Cassandra asked looking at both of them expectantly.

"I don't know," Alyss replied, "But I remember Halt saying something like that in an earlier chapter and it ended up with Will getting hurt."

"I remember that," Jenny said," You were using your bow for the first time."

Gilan chuckled, "You always learn on the job when you're taught by Halt."

Pauline frowned, "A little dangerous don't you think?"

Crowley grinned, "It's one of our most effective training methods."

By now Will was red in the face. He didn't want _everyone _to know about his first experience riding a horse.

"You're not the only one Will," Halt said while smirking," I seem to remember a few other rangers who couldn't hold their horses."

"It was you," Jenny whispered in Gilan's ear, "Whatever happened to Will happened to you too didn't it?"

Gilan blushed but didn't say a word.

"Well now I am quite curious," Duncan said, "What goes on in your stables?"

"**Will hesitated for a moment. The phrase stirred a vague memory with him. But then eagerness overcame caution and he put one foot in the stirrup and swung himself nimbly onto the pony's back. Tug stood, unmoving.**

**"Get up!" Will said, drumming his heels against the pony's side.**

**For a moment, nothing happened. Then Will felt a small tremor of movement go through the pony's body.**

**Suddenly, Tug arched his muscular little back and shot straight into the air, all four feet leaving the ground at the same time. He twisted violently to one side, came down on his front legs and kicked his rear legs high into the sky. Will sailed neatly over the pony's ears, turned a complete somersault in the air and crashed on his back in the dirt. He picked himself up, rubbing his back."**

Alyss choked on the last few words as she was laughing so hard. The rest followed suit and they were all trying to catch their breath for a long time.

"HA! YOU FELL OFF!" Horace yelled while trying to breathe, "It WASN'T JUST ME! _YOU _FELL OFF!"

"Wait?" Cassandra asked, puzzled by Horace's statement, "You fell off too?"

Horace face went red, "It was a long time ago."

"So was this but we're still hearing about it," Cassandra pointed out.

"I got on the horse as a bet and it bucked me off," Horace said as if it didn't bother him at all.

Jenny, Will and Alyss, who had all been there, kept on laughing while the others waited for an explanation.

"It was more than just a bet Horace and you know it," Jenny giggled.

"You got on Tug because of your own stupidity you oaf," Will laughed.

"He even told you not to do it," Alyss reminded him.

Cassandra was wide eyed as she laughed yet again, "Wait, you fell off TUG?"

Jenny turned to Gilan, still laughing.

"This happened to you didn't it?" she asked.

"Maybe just a little bit," Gilan mumbled not meeting her eyes.

Jenny brought a hand to his face and forced him to look at her.

"That's adorable," she told him sweetly.

"Yeah see it's adorable," Horace said gesturing to the young couple.

Cassandra snorted, "For Gilan maybe but for you it was just plain stupid."

"Wait," Duncan said, bringing to mind a question that the rest of them had in mind, "Why did the horse buck him off?"

"It'll be explained," Crowley assured him, "at least I think it will."

"Does it happen with every ranger horse?" Arald asked eagerly.

"Can you train battle horses to do it?" Rodney inquired, "Just not to their actual rider?"

"Yes and no," Crowley replied to both questions.

Alyss took her cue to read.

"**Tug stood nearby, ears up, watching him intently.**

_**Now, why did you go and do a silly thing like that**_**? The eyes seemed to say."**

They all snickered at the reminder of Will falling off his horse and Tug's sense of humour. Also because of the instant bond that both boy and horse seemed to have quickly developed.

"**Old Bob leaned against the fence, sides heaving with laughter. Will looked at Halt.**

**"What did I do wrong?" he asked. Halt ducked under the fence rails and walked across to where Tug stood watching the two of them expectantly. He handed the bridle back to Will, then laid one hand on his shoulder.**

**"Nothing, if this were an ordinary horse," he said. "But Tug has been trained as a Ranger horse—"**

**"What's the difference?" Will interrupted angrily"**

"Bad idea," Gilan said while shaking his head

**, and Halt held his hand up for silence."**

Alyss broke off from reading and her eyes seemed to scan the rest of the page.

"Alyss?" Will asked tentatively, "What are you doing?"

She ignored him and kept reading. The others looked at each other with looks of concern and puzzlement.

"Well," Gilan said, "I guess we know what she's reading."

"What is she reading?" Jenny asked him, confused by what was happening.

Will glanced over Alyss' shoulder and glanced at the page.

"So _that's_ it," Will murmured quietly.

Everyone else became impatient.

"Would anyone like to tell _me _what's going on," Duncan began impatiently, "I am your king after all."

"Shouldn't have pulled the king card dad," Cassie lectured him, "Besides _no one_ really knows what's going on."

"Alyss, you should just read," Crowley said gently, "We knew we couldn't get around this."

Alyss looked up," I have no trouble with reading this but are you sure?"

Alyss smiled at Crowley and the rest of the rangers, "I mean you lot sure are a tight lipped group."

"JUST READ IT!" Horace yelled desperately, making wild hand gestures, "They already have enough secrets as it is."

"**"The difference is, each Ranger horse has to be asked before a rider mounts him for the first time," said Halt. "**

"HA!" Horace exclaimed, "So that's how you did it!"

"Horace, do you even know what that means?" Cassandra asked, obviously knowing the answer.

"Well no," Horace replied, "But we'll find out soon enough."

Cassandra just shook her head in amusement.

**"They're trained that way so that they can never be stolen.""**

"That makes no sense at all," Arald said.

Rodney groaned, "Sir, maybe if you waited a moment you might understand what's being said.

"**Will scratched his head. "I've never heard of such a thing!" he said.**

**Old Bob smiled as he walked forward. "Not too many folk have," he said. "That's why Ranger horses never get stolen."**

**"Well," said Will, "what do you say to a Ranger horse before you mount him?"**

**Halt shrugged. "It varies from horse to horse. Each one responds to a different request." He gestured toward the larger horse. "My horse, for example, responds to the words **_**permettez moi**_**.""**

"Wait," Rodney said shaking his head, "You have secret command phrases so you can climb onto your own horses?"

"That is AWESOME!" Horace exclaimed, looking like a child on Christmas morning.

"THAT'S the big secret," Duncan said with astonishment, "I thought you were talking about secret meetings or something important."

Will smiled, "My lord, I think we'll get to the secret meeting part in a bit."

Everyone who wasn't a ranger looked up with a renewed interest. It was another moment in the story where they realised how much of this secretive society they were learning.

"So let me get this straight," Arald began, "You have your own ranger horses?"

Correct," said Halt.

"With their own special passcodes?"

Correct," said Crowley.

"And they can outrun all the other horses?"

"Correct," said Gilan.

"And I can get one?" Arald asked hopefully.

"Incorrect," said Will.

Duncan sighed and took a chance asking a question he was sure he didn't want answered.

"And how did these horses come to Araluen," Duncan asked, mainly looking at Halt.

Duncan knew of a story where Halt 'borrowed' breeding stock off the Temujai. However he didn't know the full version.

"Uh, it's quite a long story," Halt replied, making an excuse, "Perhaps for another day?"

"Perhaps," Duncan replied thoughtfully while stroking his beard.

"I still can't get over this horse thing," a surprised Horace exclaimed, "It's amazing."

"Well get over it because I'm sure it's not the first thing that's going to be revealed," Cassandra said smiling evilly at the rangers.

"**"**_**Permettez moi**_**?" Will echoed. "What sort of words are they?"**

**"They're Gallic. They mean, 'Will you allow me?' His parents came from Gallica, you see," Halt explained. Then he turned to Old Bob. "What are the words for Tug here, Bob?"**

**Bob screwed up his eyes, pretending that he couldn't remember. Then his face cleared.**

**"Oh, yes, I recall!" he said. "This 'un here, he needs to be asked, 'Do you mind?' afore you get on his back.""**

"That's TUG'S passcode!" Horace yelled yet again, "CAN I RIDE HIM?!"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Will yelled right back at him. It was one thing for them to know about this precious ranger's secret, it was another to know two passcodes but for one of them to ride a ranger horse? That was where Will drew the line.

Gilan was quietly snickering at him the whole time.

"Hey, you would feel the same about Blaze!" Will argued.

"Yeah I would," Gilan agreed gleefully, "But it's not happening to me is it?"

"Not fair," Will whined.

"Boys and their horses," Pauline sighed, "We're never going to hear the end of it."

The others could do nothing but agree.

"**"Do you mind?" Will repeated, and Bob shook his head. "Don't say it to me, youngster! Say it in the horse's ear!""**

The rangers all chuckled at their traditional old joke. It was special to them.

"That was a horrible joke," Cassandra moaned.

"Really?" Arald said, "I found it quite funny."

The others laughed. Arald's sense of humour was quite a bit off.

"**Feeling a little silly, and not at all sure that the others weren't having a joke at his expense, Will stepped forward and said softly in Tug's ear:**

**"Do you mind?"**

**Tug whinnied softly. Will looked doubtfully at the two men, and Bob nodded encouragement.**

**"Go on! Climb on now! Young Tug won't harm 'ee now"**

**Very carefully, Will swung himself onto the pony's shaggy back once again. His back still ached from the previous attempt. He sat there a moment. Nothing happened."**

"It worked!" Horace cried, "Did you here that? It worked!"

"I know dear," Cassandra said while shaking her head, "I'm sitting right here."

"Halt, can I try on Abelard?" Horace asked eagerly.

Halt glared at him, giving Horace a dark, unnerving look.

"You touch my horse and I'll make sure you never ride another horse again."

Horace decided right then and there that it would be best to give up his dream of riding a ranger horse.

"**Then, he tapped his heels gently into Tug's ribs.**

**"Come on, boy," he said softly.**

**Tug's ears twitched up and he stepped forward at an easy walk.**

**Still cautious, Will let him walk around the paddock once or twice, then tapped again with his heels. Tug broke into a gentle trot. Will moved easily to the rhythm of the horse's movement and Halt looked on approvingly. "**

"That's a first," Duncan snorted.

"**The boy was an instinctive rider.**

**The Ranger unclipped the short length of rope that held the paddock gate closed and swung the wide gate open.**

**"Take him out, Will," he called, "and see what he can really do!"**

**Obediently, Will turned the pony toward the gate and, as they passed through into the open ground beyond, tapped once more with his heels. He felt the muscular little body beneath him bunch momentarily, then Tug broke into a fast gallop.**

**The wind rushed past Will's ears as he leaned forward over the pony's neck, encouraging him to even greater speed. Tug's ears pricked upward in response and he went even faster than before.**

**He was like the wind. His short legs were a blur of motion as he carried the boy at full speed toward the edge of the trees." **

"That one sure is unnaturally fast," Crowley mumbled.

"How is it unnatural?" Jenny asked, hiding a smile.

"Because he's faster than Cropper," Will said, grinning.

"Every horse is faster than Cropper," Gilan snorted.

"Really?" Halt said, "Even Blaze? I wouldn't have thought that with an old sack of bones like you on her back."

"**, not sure how the pony would react, Will applied pressure to the lefthand rein.**

**Instantly, Tug veered to the left, racing away from the trees at an angle. Will kept the gentle pressure on the rein until Tug was headed once again back toward the paddock. Will gasped in amazement as he saw how far they had come. Halt and Old Bob were tiny figures in the distance now. But they grew rapidly larger as Tug flew over the rough grass toward them.**

**A fallen log loomed in front of them and, before Will could make any effort to avoid it, Tug had gathered himself, steadied and leaped over the obstacle. Will let out a shout of excitement and the pony whinnied briefly in reply."**

Crowley sighed, "A ranger and his first horse. Got to love the old days."

"**They were almost back to the paddock now and Will pulled gently on both reins. Instantly, Tug slowed to a canter, then a trot, finally coming down to walking pace as Will maintained the pressure on the reins. He brought the pony to a standstill beside Halt. Tug tossed his shaggy head and whinnied again. Will leaned forward and patted the pony on the neck.**

**"He's terrific!" he said breathlessly. "He's as fast as the wind!"**

**Halt nodded gravely. "Perhaps not quite as fast as the wind," he said, "but he can certainly cover ground." He turned to the old man. "You've done well with him, Bob."**

**Old Bob ducked his head in appreciation and leaned forward to pat the shaggy little pony in his turn. He had spent his life breeding, training and preparing the Ranger Corps' horses and this one ranked among the best he'd seen.**

**"He'll keep that pace all day," he said fondly. "Run them fat battlehorses into the ground, this 'un will. Youngster rides him well, too, Ranger, don't 'e?"**

**Halt stroked his beard. "Not too badly," he said. Bob was scandalized."**

"As are the rest of us Halt," said a scandalized Rodney, "That boy was a natural."

"He rode like the wind," said Arald.

"And jumped a log on his first go," added an astounded Duncan, "You really need to give your apprentices more credit."

"**"Not too badly? You're a hard man, Ranger! Youngster sat him light as a feather through that jump!" The old man looked up at Will, sitting astride the pony, and nodded in appreciation. "'E don't saw away at them reins like some do, neither. Got a light touch with a horse's soft mouth, 'e 'as."**

**Will grinned at the old horse trainer's praise. He sneaked a quick look at Halt, but the Ranger was as grave-faced as ever.**

**He never smiles, Will thought to himself. He went to dismount, then stopped himself hurriedly.**

**"Is there anything I should say to him before I get off?""**

Gilan and Crowley were laughing so hard it took them a few moments before they could calm down.

"**Bob laughed aloud. "No, youngster. Once said and young Tug here will remember—as long as it's you who's riding him." Relieved, Will climbed down. He stood beside the pony and Tug shoved him affectionately with his head. Will glanced at the apple barrel.**

**"Could I give him another?" he asked.**

**Halt nodded. "Just one more," he said. "But don't go making a habit of it. He'll be too fat to run if you feed him all the time." Tug snorted loudly. Apparently he and Halt were at odds over how many apples a pony should have in a day."**

"And so begins a wonderful friendship," Will laughed.

"**Will spent the rest of the day getting tips on riding technique from Old Bob, and learning how to look after and repair Tug's saddle and harness, as well as the finer points of caring for the little horse.**

**He brushed and curried the shaggy coat until it shone and Tug seemed to appreciate his efforts. Finally, worn-out, his arms aching with the effort, he had slumped to a seat on a hay bale. Which, of course, had to be the exact moment when Halt walked into the stable."**

"Of course," the room chorused.

**""Come along," he said. "No time to be lolling around doing nothing. We'd best get moving if we're to be home before dark."**

**And, so saying, he tossed a saddle across the back of his horse. Will didn't bother to protest that he hadn't been "lolling around," as the Ranger put it. For a start, he knew it would be no use. And secondly, he was excited by the fact that they would be riding back to Halt's little cottage by the edge of the forest. It seemed that the two horses were to become a permanent part of their establishment. He realized now that Halt's horse had obviously been so before and that the Ranger had only been waiting until Will had shown his ability to ride and to bond with Tug before reclaiming him from his temporary home in Old Bob's stable.**

**The horses whinnied to each other from time to time as they trotted back through the dim green forest, for all the world as if they were carrying on their own conversation."**

"They probably were," Alyss laughed. They all knew of a relationship between ranger and horse. They just knew that the ranger preferred to keep it to themselves. However Alyss could have sworn that every so often Tug would ask her for an apple or raise his eyebrow at her behind Will's back.

"**Will was bursting with questions he wanted to ask. But, by now, he was wary of chattering too much in the Ranger's presence.**

**Finally, he could contain himself no longer.**

**"Halt?" he said, experimentally.**

**The Ranger grunted. Will took that as a sign that he could continue speaking.**

**"What's your horse's name?" the boy asked.**

**Halt looked down at him. His horse was slightly larger than Tug, although nowhere near the size of the giant battlehorses kept in the Baron's stable.**

**"I believe it's Abelard," he said.**

**"Abelard?" Will repeated. "What kind of name is that?"**

**"It's Gallic," said the Ranger, obviously putting an end to the conversation.**

**They rode a few kilometers farther in silence. The sun was lowering over the trees now and their shadows were long and distorted on the ground in front of them. Will studied Tug's shadow. The pony seemed to have enormously long legs and a ridiculously short body. He wanted to call Halt's attention to it but thought that such a frivolous observation would not impress the Ranger. Instead, he summoned the courage to ask another question that had been occupying his thoughts for some days.**

**"Halt?" he said again.**

**The Ranger sighed briefly.**

**"What now?" he asked. His tone definitely did not encourage further conversation. However, Will pressed on.**

**"Remember you told me how a Ranger was responsible for Morgarath's defeat?"**

**"Mmmm," Halt grunted.**

**"Well, I was just wondering, what was the Ranger's name?" the boy asked.**

**"Names aren't important," Halt said. "I really can't remember.""**

"As if," Duncan chuckled, "You remember everything."

"**"Was it you?" Will continued, sure that it was. Halt turned that level, unsmiling gaze on him again.**

**"I said, names aren't important," he repeated. There was a silence between them for some seconds, then the Ranger said. "Do you know what is important?"**

**Will shook his head.**

**"Supper is important!" said the Ranger."**

"Literally in my apprenticeship," Jenny grinned.

"Seriously?" Horace asked.

"I was in a cooking apprenticeship you oaf," Jenny smiled, "Of course supper was important."

Horace grinned, "See now that makes sense."

" **"And we'll be late for it if we don't hurry."**

**He clapped his heels into Abelard's side and the horse shot away like an arrow from Halt's own bow, leaving Will and Tug far behind in a matter of seconds.**

**Will touched Tug's sides with his own heels and the little pony raced off in pursuit of his bigger friend.**

**"Come on, Tug!" Will urged. "Let's show them how a real Ranger horse can run.""**

"That horse trick is unbelievable," Rodney said once the chapter was finished.

"I still can't believe it," Horace cried, "All these years I wondered and now I finally know."

* * *

><p>Thanks for all your wonderful reviews. Now this story has a total of 190 reviews. When I started this story I didn't know so many people would read it. I didn't even know Ranger's Apprentice had such a big fandom outside Australia. Hopefully when you all read this chapter you'll review and make it 200 reviews (and yes, I know reviews are not given, they're earned).<p>

As this is one of my favourite chapters in the book I thought I might share the story of how I came to love Ranger's Apprentice. When I was in Primary school I was part of an advanced English group. There were only about six of us. We were invited to go the KOALA awards which stands for Kids Own Australian Literature Awards (it's an Australian thing). There were all these famous authors and we got the chance to meet and vote for our favourite authors. The awards were called out and at the end we were given a free book of our choice and a chance to have our books signed. I was (and still am) a huge Emily Rodda fan (she wrote the Deltora Quest series). I brought one of my Deltora Quest books for her to sign. After I had it signed I went to get my free book. Unfortunately they ran out of the book The Secrets of Deltora. It was then that I saw Ranger's Apprentice. It was a large hardcover book that I had seen recently in bookstores. I had no idea what it was and I took it. For a month it sat on my bookshelf gathering dust but one day I picked it up and realised that it was the first two books in one edition. I started reading it and now I am where I am today, a loyal Ranger's Apprentice fan and proud owner of all twelve Ranger's Apprentice books.

Have you got a story on how you became a Ranger's Apprentice fan? You can leave your answers in the Reviews section.

Tia97


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice Series or its characters.

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><p>Halt took the book reluctantly and turned to chapter fifteen.<p>

"**Will rode Tug slowly through the crowded fairground that had been set up outside the castle walls. All the villagers and inhabitants of the castle itself seemed to be out and he had to ride carefully to ensure that Tug didn't step on somebody's foot."**

"Sounds like Harvest Day," Gilan grinned reminiscently.

Cassandra frowned.

"What's so good about harvesting?"

"It's not just harvesting," Jenny explained, "It's the circus and all the travellers that's exciting."

Cassandra shared a puzzled look with her father. Duncan knew little of the tradition but he knew that the day after harvest was celebrated in some way. Not for the first time Cassandra realised that she, her father and Crowley were the only people not from Redmont. Even Gilan had lived in Redmont for some time. It saddened her to know that she knew little of the customs that came from the fief of her husband and her closest friends.

"Well I remember this harvest day particularly well," Rodney said with an eyebrow raised, "I'm sure the rest of you do as well."

Jenny and Alyss giggled at the reminder while both Will and Horace blushed.

""**It was Harvest Day, the day when all the crops had been gathered and stored for the winter months ahead. After a hard month of harvesting, the Baron traditionally allowed his people a holiday. Every year, at this time, the traveling fair came to the castle and set up its booths and stalls. There were fire-eaters and jugglers, singers and storytellers. There were stalls where you could attempt to win prizes by throwing soft leather balls at pyramids made from bottle-shaped pieces of wood or by throwing hoops over squares. Will sometimes thought that the squares were perhaps just a little larger than the hoops that one was given to throw and he had never actually seen anyone win one of the prizes."**

"That is very true," Horace complained, "I can never get it."

"That's because they are indeed bigger than the hoops," Halt confirmed.

Pauline gave him a scrutinising glare.

"And how exactly do you know this?"

"Hang on," Jenny interrupted, "I got it in a few years ago."

Horace looked at her suspiciously.

Will chuckled, remembering what Halt had done on Harvest Day a few years back.

"I merely examined them my dear," Halt replied to Pauline's question.

"Then why does Will find it so funny?" Alyss asked with an eyebrow raised.

Arald sighed, knowing he was going to regret asking this.

"Halt, what exactly did you do to that stall?"

Will could not keep a straight face. Crowley, who knew Halt's ways, laughed in anticipation of what he was about to hear. They all stared at Halt waiting for an explanation.

"I just felt like seeing if the myth was true. About how the square might be bigger than the hoop," Halt began to explain, "So I gave the stall a small visit the night before they set up properly."

"And what did you do in his small visit?" Duncan asked with a knowing smile.

Will was now having uncontrollable fits of laughter. It did not matter how many time Alyss gave him 'the look'. He just couldn't stop.

"Like I said, I examined them," Halt said, shrugging his shoulders.

"And?" Rodney said, clearly disappointed, for he too was a victim of that particular stall.

"I, ah, made some slight adjustments to the squares," Halt finally admitted.

"How slight an adjustment?" Pauline asked, not letting the subject go.

"He cut off part of the square to make the square smaller so the hoop would go on it," Will laughed, finally revealing what Halt had done.

"No wonder they were so angry a few years back," Arald said, "I remember them complaining about being sabotaged."

Rodney was laughing his head off.

"Served them right," he choked.

Gilan and Crowley just shook their heads. Yep, typical Halt.

"**But it was all fun and the Baron paid for it from his own purse."**

"That's very generous," said Duncan approvingly, "A good way to raise moral."

Arald blushed with pride. It was nice to be told by the King that you were running your own fief well. All the other members of Redmont fief and Gilan nodded their heads in appreciation.

"**Right now, however, Will was not concerned with the fair and its attractions. There would be time later in the day for that. At the moment, he was on his way to meet his former wardmates."**

Rodney recalled the fighting incident from that day. He wondered what on earth would set off such a squabble between two best friends. Then he remembered how they weren't friends in their younger days. Funny, Rodney thought, you would never have guessed it now.

"**By tradition, all the Craftmasters gave their apprentices the day off on Harvest Day, even though they had taken no part in the actual harvest themselves." **

"So what did the craftmasters do?" Cassandra asked curiously.

At this, the others became quite interested. What did craftmasters do in their spare time?

Arald usually turned a blind eye on them in their free time.

Pauline blushed and remembered how she and Halt had been having lunch on that day. She had joined him on a walk and they stood on the hill overlooking the fairgrounds where they watched for prize winners and talked to each other about nothing in particular.

"Not much," Halt answered as Pauline thought of that day.

Crowley saw Pauline's blush and suspected something else had gone on that day that his friend wasn't mentioning. Rodney was, however, remembering a near death experience he had when he accidently walked to close to a fire eater.

"**Will had been wondering for weeks whether or not Halt would conform to the practice. The Ranger seemed to take no notice of tradition and had his own way of doing things. But, two nights before, his anxiety had been settled. Halt had gruffly told him that he could have the holiday, adding that he would probably forget everything that he had learned in the past three months."**

Gilan laughed.

"He did the same thing to me."

Pauline smiled. She knew better. Halt had asked her to join him for lunch an entire _month _before Harvest Day.

"**Those three months had been a time of constant practice with his bow and the knives that Halt had given him. Three months of stalking through the fields outside the castle, moving from one scant patch of cover to the next, trying to make his way unobserved by Halt's eagle eyes. Three months of riding and caring for Tug, of forming a special bond of friendship with the little pony.**

**That, he thought, had been the most enjoyable part of it all."**

Crowley and Gilan nodded their heads in agreement.

Horace groaned. He knew what would be coming up soon. Cassandra would never let him hear the end of it.

"**Now, he was ready for a holiday and ready to enjoy himself a little. Even the thought that Horace would be there couldn't dim the pleasure."**

Will and Horace both looked at each other and laughed. But Horace was still tiny bit uneasy.

"**Maybe, he thought, a few months' hard training in Battleschool had changed Horace's aggressive manner a little."**

"You'll be nicer won't you?" Cassandra asked, looking her husband in the eye.

"Uh, a bit," Horace said sheepishly.

"Don't lie," Jenny laughed, "You were acting like such a prick."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow in Horace's direction. Horace did not meet her eyes.

"**It was Jenny who had arranged the meeting for the holiday, encouraging the others to join her with the promise of a batch of fresh mince pies that she would bring from the kitchen."**

"Mince pies," Arald said dreamily.

"Uh, sir, you're drooling," Rodney pointed out.

By this point everyone was.

"I'm hungry," Horace complained.

"You're always hungry," Cassandra and Jenny retorted at the same time.

"I wish I could have been there," Gilan whispered into Jenny's ear.

Jenny grinned

"For me or the pies?"

"For both," Gilan replied.

"Why don't you spend next Harvest Day with me and I can make you some."

Gilan smiled.

"It's a date."

"**She was already one of Master Chubb's prize pupils"**

"Surprise surprise," Jenny's former wardmates said in unison.

Jenny blushed which Gilan thought made her look beautiful. Well … even _more_ beautiful.

"**and he boasted of her artistry to anyone who would listen-giving suitable emphasis to the vital role his training had played in developing her skill, of course."**

"Tell me Jennifer," Duncan said, "Have you ever thought about working in the palace kitchens?"

Duncan wasn't sure if it was him or the hunger talking but he knew he wanted those mince pies.

Jenny, not knowing if this was a simple question or an offer, replied:

"Actually My Lord, after serving my apprenticeship in the Palace kitchens I decided that owning my own place is what I like doing best."

"Fair enough," Duncan smiled.

"**Will's stomach grumbled with pleasure at the thought of those pies. He was starving, since he had intentionally gone without breakfast so as to leave room for them. Jenny's pies were already legendary in Castle Redmont."**

"Wow," Cassandra said, "They must be good."

Many of the others looked at her as if she were mad.

"They aren't just good," Horace said to her, horrified, "They're amazing."

"It's like an explosion in your mouth," Will said dreamily.

"The best I've ever had," Alyss added.

"They are the meaning of life," Gilan said boldly.

They all stared at him strangely.

"Too far?" he asked Jenny.

"Just a bit," Jenny smiled, glowing from all the compliments.

"**He had arrived at the meeting point early, so he dismounted and led Tug into the shade of an apple tree. The little pony craned his head and looked wistfully at the apples on the branches, well out of his reach. Will grinned at him and scrambled quickly up the tree, picking an apple and handing it to the pony."**

"Your horse is getting fat," Halt said gruffly, "I keep telling you not to feed him so many apples."

"He can still outrun Abelard," Will retorted.

"Ooooh," Gilan said, "He got your there Halt."

"**"That's all you get," he said. "You know what Halt says about eating too much.""**

They all laughed at Halt and Tug's relationship. It was a strange yet beautifully funny one.

"**Tug shook his head impatiently. That was still a matter of disagreement between him and the Ranger."**

"And years later that still hasn't changed," Horace laughed.

"**Will looked around. There was no sign of the others, so he sat down in the shade of the tree, leaning his back against the knobby trunk to wait.**

**"Why, it's young Will, isn't it?" said a deep voice close behind him."**

"Who's that," Cassandra asked worriedly.

They all groaned.

"Cassie," Duncan began, "How many times must it be said? If it's important we'll now."

"**Will scrambled hastily to his feet and touched his forehead in a polite salute. It was Baron Arald himself, seated astride his giant battlehorse and accompanied by several of his senior knights."**

Arald puffed out his chest with pride after hearing his re introduction. It had been too long since he had last been heard from. He thought it would be a great time to hear some of his fantastic wit.

"**"Yes, sir," said Will nervously. He wasn't used to being addressed by the Baron. "A happy Harvest Day to you, sir."**

**The Baron nodded in acknowledgment and leaned forward, slouching comfortably in his saddle. Will had to crane his neck to look up at him."**

"I can't believe there was a time when you were smaller than this," Horace said, gesturing to Will and shaking with fits of laughter.

"Wait, you used to be smaller?" Cassandra whispered in mock horror.

The happy couple remained laughing while an amused Jenny whispered to Gilan,

"Those two are made for each other."

To which Gilan wished to reply, 'Maybe we are as well.'

"**"I must say, young man, you look quite the part there," the Baron said. "I hardly saw you in that gray Ranger cloak. Has Halt been teaching you all his tricks already?"**

**Will glanced down at the gray and green mottled cloak that he was wearing. Halt had given it to him some weeks ago. He'd shown Will how the gray and green mottling broke up the shape of the wearer and helped him blend into the landscape. It was one of the reasons, he'd said, why Rangers could move unseen with such ease."**

"HA!" Rodney shouted, "I KNEW you weren't invisible."

His sudden outburst earned him strange glances from everyone else.

"At least that's what I say to my battleschool pupils," Rodney amended sheepishly.

"**"It's the cloak, sir," Will said. "Halt calls it camouflage." The Baron nodded, obviously familiar with the term, which had been a new concept to Will.**

**"Just make sure you don't use it to steal more cakes," he said with mock severity, and Will shook his head hurriedly.**

**"Oh, no, sir!" he said immediately. "Halt told me that if I did anything like that, he'd tan the skin off my backsi-" He stopped awkwardly. He wasn't sure if backside was the sort of word you used in the presence of someone as exalted as a Baron."**

Halt raised his eyebrow, which was the equivalent of a grin. The others were laughing so hard that it took them a long time to settle down. Then when Halt went to read the book again they were all sent into fresh peals of laughter.

"I wonder if he would have actually done it," Cassandra tried to say through her laughter.

Halt, who was the only one not laughing, replied:

"I would have if it were necessary."

That did not help calm everyone's laughter down.

"**The Baron nodded again, trying not to let a wide grin break through.**

**"I'm sure he did," he said. "And how are you getting on with Halt, Will? Are you enjoying learning to be a Ranger?"**

**Will paused. To be honest, he hadn't had time to think if he was enjoying himself or not. His days were too busy learning new skills, practicing with bow and knives and working with Tug. This was the first time in three months he'd had a moment to actually think about it.**

**"I suppose so," he said hesitantly. "Only…" His voice trailed off and the Baron looked at him more closely.**

**"Only what?" he prompted.**

**Will shifted from one foot to the other, wishing that his mouth didn't continually get him into these situations by talking too much. Words had a way of emerging before he'd really had time to consider whether he wanted to say them or not.**

**"Only… Halt never smiles at all," he went on awkwardly. "He's always so serious about things." He had the impression that the Baron was suppressing another grin."**

Arald had no trouble now. They were all laughing again and Halt sighed in annoyance.

"And now we know that Halt's rarely serious about anything," Gilan said, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Amen to that," Crowley agreed.

"**"Well," said Baron Arald, "being a Ranger is a serious business, you know. I'm sure Halt has impressed that on you."**

**"All the time," Will said ruefully and, this time, the Baron couldn't help smiling.**

**"Just pay attention to what he tells you, youngster," he said. "You're learning a very important job there."**

**"Yes, sir." Will was a little surprised to realize that he did agree with the Baron. Baron Arald reached forward to gather up his reins.**

**On an impulse, before the nobleman could ride away, Will stepped forward.**

**"Excuse me, sir," he said hesitantly, and the Baron turned back to him.**

**"Yes, Will?" he asked.**

**Will shuffled his feet again, then went on. "Sir, remember when our armies fought Morgarath?"**

**Baron Arald's cheerful face was clouded by a thoughtful frown. "I'll not forget that in a hurry, boy," he said. "What about it?"**

**"Sir, Halt tells me that a Ranger showed the cavalry a secret way across the Slipsunder, so they were able to attack the enemy's rear…"**

**"That's true," said Arald.**

**"I've been wondering, sir, what was the Ranger's name?" Will finished, feeling himself flush with his boldness."**

"Or maybe with stupidity," Halt said.

"Halt!" Pauline whispered angrily, "He was only a boy."

"**"Didn't Halt tell you?" the Baron asked. Will shrugged his shoulders.**

**"He said names weren't important. He said supper was important, but not names.""**

"I didn't understand that at the time," Arald said thoughtfully, "I thought Halt was just feeding you some stupid riddle."

"**"But you think names are important, in spite of what your master has told you?" said the Baron, seeming to frown again. Will gulped and went on.**

**"I Think it was Halt himself, sir," he said. "And I wondered why he hadn't been decorated or honored for his skill." The Baron thought for a moment, then spoke again.**

**"Well, you're right, Will," he said. "It was Halt. And I wanted to honor him for it, but he wouldn't allow me. He said that wasn't the Rangers' way."**

**"But…" Will began in a perplexed tone, but the Baron's upraised hand stopped him from speaking any further.**

**"You Rangers have your own ways, Will, as I'm sure you're learning. Sometimes other people don't understand them. Just listen to Halt and do as he does and I'm sure you'll have an honorable life ahead of you.""**

"It's like you told the future there sir," Rodney said to Arald.

"Honourable?" Duncan huffed, "More like heroic."

"**"Yes, sir." Will saluted again as the Baron slapped his reins lightly on his horse's neck and turned him away toward the fairground. "Now, enough of this," said the Baron. "We can't chatter all day.**

**I'm off to the fair. Maybe this year I'll get a hoop over one of those damned squares!""**

"A few years too early sir," Jenny laughed.

**The Baron started to ride away. Then a thought seemed to strike him and he reined in for a second.**

**"Will," he called back. "Yes, sir?"**

**"Don't tell Halt that I told you he led the cavalry. I don't want him angry at me.""**

"That's something you never want to see," Gilan winced.

"And you would know that would you?" Halt enquired in a challenging way.

Gilan grinned.

"Halt the last time you were annoyed with me you threw me into a lake."

Horace shuddered.

"If that's annoyed then I definitely don't want to see angry."

"That's nothing," Will argued, "One time he made me sleep in a tree for the night."

Duncan sighed.

"Halt, sometimes I really fear for your apprentices."

"Don't worry my lord," Crowley smiled, "Halt needs to stay entertained some way."

* * *

><p>Thank you for the many great reviews, follows, favourites and views.<p>

Some of you pointed out that Horace already knew about the passcodes secret. If you look back you see that Gilan suggested that Will give Horace Tug's passcode but wasn't able to before they burned the bridge. Horace didn't ride Tug. Tug just followed Horace, Kicker and the pack horse.

I had some inquiries as to whether I would be doing The Burning Bridge. I remain final in my decision to just do the first book.

Tia97.


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